Dead Space: Survival
by Kikatzu
Summary: Why did I agree to this…? To be a part of these Unitology experiments? Now I'm forced to work with Dr. Mercer's crazy fascination for these Necromorphs and extremist ideas… but I also want to help Nicole's boyfriend survive…  First fanfic, and has OC.
1. Chapter 1: Vacancy of the Ishimura

Chapter 1: Vacancy of the Ishimura

Project Name: Vaccination of Immortality

File Type: Digital Journal

Date: March 21st, 2508

Hmph, can't believe I'm starting another one of these stupid journals again. Pathetic… alas, Doctor Kyne, the head of the Science department aboard the Ishimura, wanted me to start one of these; he claims he wants to just get a better look into my mind… Whatever, I'm just here to give him what he wants so I can be left alone.

Let's see, it's been almost a year since we've been waiting for the "A-Okay" to begin the experiments… The crewmen think I'm a Marker-Head, the unitologists preach that I'm the coming… A good sign, I hope… Doctor thinks that I'm a sign sent by god for the crew upon the Ishimura. Hm… Okay, let me start from the beginning of everything, shall we?

Alright, this whole thing started a few years ago- I originally came from planet Earth, and I had snuck upon the Ishimura to join my father. I loved him then- my idol, my hero, my father… Hmph, I was naïve then- I had no idea that the Ishimura was leaving Earth for an expedition for several years. It didn't take long for me to start missing mother. What do you want? I was young. Either way, my father tried to make due. The Ishimura is a mining vessel, a planet cracker- the largest in her class. With that, it's obvious that it would have the biggest sector in the quadrant, or galaxy, or whatever… The Aegis system… It's also the furthest system from Earth. Go figure…

I do not remember much anymore about my first few years upon this ship. I remember crying and fussing a lot about wanting to go home, but of course, that wasn't an option… A waste of money and resources to go back due to one child, so… I eventually made due… Since I had to do something with my spare time and figure out a way to know everyone, I started to name people on the ship by giving them nicknames. One nickname I remember was 'Space Cow Man' at the cafeteria, for the Milk (yeah… it took a few months to finally realize the guy's real name was George, ha- my nickname was better). Another two were Rodrick and Joe… To be honest, I don't know how I got those names. I suppose they just suited them? At other times I'd get the chance to finally find a hallway to star gaze at. Is the Ishimura huge and maze like on the inside? Hell, yes. Don't believe me? Go and find a map module and look yourself. Even with a map, I can still get lost. Anyway, whenever I did find a window, I'd always get excited. Stargazing was always my favorite, even on Earth. The stars shining brightly to say, "Hello", to me- it was always a nice feeling. I would even name my favorite stars… I forget most of the names now… The only one I can remember was the one I named 'Ley', mostly for its Scarlet color- but I felt that red was too closely related to that of blood (I always was prone to getting nosebleeds… Did I like them? No. Although… I suppose the machinery glitch that killed those crew men around the time had something to do with it too…). To have something gruesome on your mind as a kid, it's something that tends to be scary…

Ah, but as I look back on my younger self… I find myself to be a fool for thinking that space was one of the best places to be… Look around, all the stars look like the shine in today's crewmen's eyes… The glances… Some of even awe and wonderment… Then there are the larger stars or planets… The officials, the heads of certain departments, the higher ranked initiates of Unitology, everyone that are important… The ones that always keep an eye on me to make sure that I don't do anything wrong, even speak or breathe out of turn… No… Space is dead to me… Everything out there but Earth and these ships and colonies are dead… It's a Dead Space. Why are we still out here? It's been years since we've all been home, can't we go back yet? I grew up here and I don't even know what we're looking for, if anything… Furthermore, our presence in the Aegis system is against the government's rules… I suppose it must be justified to attempt getting more resources for Earth…

Anyway, as time has passed- more accidents have happened… Eventually one killing my father… I guess I saw it coming, I just couldn't believe it when they broke the news to me… "They", being the doctors and, even the Captain… As my birthday and Christmas passed, I was surprised to find out that close workers of my friends, the Doctor, and even the Captain, Captain Benjamin Matthius had gotten me presents… I guess I felt like I was a part of a new family now… I didn't feel as alone, the Doctor even took care of me as my own and took me out of the sleeping units (I was getting some creepy stares as I got older and my body had… matured, I suppose… Guys can be such freaks sometimes…), giving me a room of my own. His room being down the hall from mine, so I didn't have to wonder far if I needed anything…

There was even a time when I was beginning to seem to be a part of the crew, not along the lines of handiwork- but medicine. I wanted to try and help people live or lessen their pains, so I'd work alongside the Doctor… Other times, if they were short on hand- I was to be found on the Captain's deck and help keep an eye on the monitors or even fix them myself…

When time came to be my 18th birthday, I was legally an adult… The Doctor and the Captain both came up to me with a big question, to help partake in an experiment and help further the research in medicine aboard the ship- or what seems to everyone else, help strengthen the guide lines of Unitology… The experimentation? Just a few artificial steroid tests, I believe… Now, do I believe in Unitology? Religion is only good for those that have no hope… When they believe that the ending is near… Some feel the need to pray to a higher being. Someone that they feel could change everything around them. Once I made that agreement, to go under the experimentations of Unitology, I also agreed to do whatever the higher initiates had asked of me… My money, my dignity, my life… even my name… My original name? Fay Zelaya… My new name? Vivien Ding- among everyone else, Vi.

I suppose I'll leave it at this for now, I'll continue these logs if the Doctor sees fit…

Project Name: Vaccination of Immortality

File Type: Digital Journal

Date: March 27th, 2508

Like I said in the last entry, the Doctor was quite interested in my last log. So he wants me to continue them- although, this time, he wants me to write about the changes that I've felt since the beginning of these tests. They just started changing my doses… They claim it's something along the lines of a control for the real experiment. Then what is the real experiment? Now that I think about, I can see why they started to make me do these journals… To make sure I'm not becoming insane or dependent on the doses I guess…

The changes that I've felt as of late have been through my body… A typical steroid… Although, I don't think anyone can blame me for being suspicious…

I've become a bit noticeably stronger, to the point I could help out with the handiwork that the heavy lifters have to do on the ship (moving boxes, moving machinery, etc…). It's odd when the Doctor keeps whispering that it's "God's plans in motion" or something like that… I'm not that strong, I should know. I had an arm wrestling match with one of the workers and he beat me after a moment or two, but these are the things with steroids anyway. Once they wear off, I'm my normal self again. Nothing new… Nothing permanent…

Other side notes that I've noticed physically is that, and these have no real positives or negatives- just things that I've noticed, my hair used to have a brighter tint to it, but it no longer does- if anything it's a lot darker now, and my eyes that used to be a blue-green color is now just a solid blue.

Hm… There's really nothing huge about this entry, I suppose they expect something major for the real experiments…

Project Name: Vaccination of Immortality

File Type: Digital Journal

Date: April 3rd, 2508

Been a while to get the journal module back, don't blame the Doctor though… The Ishimura had just recently gotten orders to go to Aegis VII. Apparently they found a relic, the Marker. We've been told to go, pick it up, and bring it to Earth. Although it'll be a while to get there, the engines are acting up so we're being slower than normal- being on the opposite side of the sector doesn't help either…

The Doctor has decided recently to just let me keep the module and he'd check it every few entries. For now, he just wants me to write about what I've been up to lately and my opinions on it… I feel like he's a therapist more than a doctor now, but… if it makes him satisfied with his research then I'll continue to do what he says.

A few days after I handed in my journal module, I was given the Kinesis module that a select few of the crew has. I was "supposed" to just use it for moving heavy duty stuff or to just be careful and not have to carry anything explosive. Although the Doctor did seem to imply that I could use it for other things… So, I've been playing around with this a bit. Just a moment ago I was tossing my pillow around the room, ha. I don't think I've really played around or smiled like that in a while.

Today… Basically the main focus was on the engines, been working on it since my daily injection from the Doctor. I wouldn't say I'm exhausted from working on it, just… Well… Bored, fixing engines or machinery isn't all that fun to me. Hm, go figure.

During the times that I did have off, there was a lot of talk about the Marker in the halls and the cafeteria. Although, it seems to me that the ones that are a part of Unitology only seem to care. The others, they just basically think we'll finally get to go home… Back to Earth… To be honest, I have no idea how we're going to really get back anyway if, about, half the crew is standing at the rock and just gawking at it instead of working… But, that's just me.

I'll end it here for now, not sure when I'll update again. I guess whenever something important to be noted will result in an entry. That's justifiable, right?

Project Name: Vaccination of Immortality

File Type: Digital Journal

Date: April 6th, 2508

Not much here today, getting closer to Aegis VII… Just picked up some new crew members from another ship, not sure why… The Captain says that he was ordered to from his superiors… Some people guess it's incase a riot breaks out over the piece of rock. Well, if it were for rioting precautions, shouldn't there be a tighter security as well? So far, I see none of that and there were no new officers (or security guards?) reported on the list of crew members. (Although, I hate to note… but most of the people that have left the Ishimura were replaced by devout Unitologists. Perhaps, only 20% or so of the crew now are not a part of Unitology…)

Hm, maybe it's just me anyway… I've never seen a riot before, hate to now. Clean records of not seeing one fight is always good to me.

We'll be coming within orbit of Aegis VII in the matter of days to pick the Marker up, then another day or two to drill into the planet. It should all go fine, I mean… It's just a routine stop to a planet to mine, aside from the religious rock… I dunno, for once- I'm kinda nervous about this whole thing… Just the fact that we needed more staff for the health department… Doesn't anyone else feel the same way?

Anyway… thought it might be important to note that I'm now being assigned to two doctors now; Dr. Kyne and Dr. Mercer. Dr. Kyne is now in charge of the new members of the Science Department so he has to look over everyone's shoulders and make sure they know what they're doing. He told me that he'd still be monitoring my procedures and still look at the journal entries whenever he gets the time to. Apparently, I also heard that Dr. Kyne needs to take a look at the markings on the Marker. With the other guy, he honestly seems a little nuts to me (that or he's really devoted to his work)… I mean, he's a major Unitologist… More than most people I've seen on the ship, and he's been changing some of my medication too. Such as today, he explained to me that in order to continue the research of these experiments that I'll need to start getting used to the "Water of Life" Tubes- yes, I made the name up (although, they're really called Stasis Tubes).

I really don't know if Dr. Kyne knows about any of this stuff… Or even if he knew about these people-containing tubes he has being made in his office in the medical wing. Either way, I still have no choice in either of this, really. I'm just a guinea pig being experimented on, so I have no voice- just results.

To change the subject once more, Dr. Kyne also arranged me to start learning first hand from one of the doctors, or nurses, on the staff as a way to thank me for agreeing to do all of these tests for him. He told me that her name is Nicole Brennan. I didn't get the chance to meet her yet… (Well, formally anyway…) But Dr. Kyne did say that she was nice and looking forward to teaching me. To be honest, I'm a bit excited about this- even though I'll only be hanging out with her for about an hour or until she's tired of being watched. Ha, funny how there's so many emotions that I haven't touched upon in a while coming up these past couple of days, huh?

Gonna end it here today, have to wake up early tomorrow to see Dr. Mercer and see if he needs help with the tubes or if he wanted to do a test run or something to see if it's working properly…

Project Name: Vaccination of Immortality

File Type: Digital Journal

Date: April 9th, 2508

Not much of a gap between journal entries this time… It took longer than expected to get the tubes set up in Dr. Mercer's office so we didn't start the treatment until today. He told me that we'll start with a certain amount of time and gradually increase the amount of time in them.

In all honesty, it felt very weird in there. Not in a claustrophobic type of way, but in the way that you're in his hands- he could do anything to you and you can't do a thing about it. Once he starts the treatment, you can't leave until he lets you out. Even more so, he could give a person other supplements and they wouldn't even be aware of it… but I suppose that goes for all other doctors out there.

Aside from those reasons, it was oddly… peaceful… Not in the way that I'd be in there all day, in the guy's office where other people could walk in and gawk at me… without clothes on. (Ugh, that always sends shivers down my spine when I think about that…) Anyway, it's nice in the fact that I can easily relax in it, once the liquid fills up the tube at least… There's just something in it that makes someone want to just sleep and not worry about anything else going on. Especially since one could escape all the craziness aboard the ship at the moment- everyone's getting more and more… excited.

Another side note; I still don't believe that Dr. Kyne- or anyone else on this ship for that matter, knows that Dr. Mercer just so happens to have those two tubes in his office. (Or even that rancid smell in there either… How does he stand it…?) His doors are always locked and he's always covering the one window that allows people to see into his office. Hm, like I've said before- I have no say in anything that Dr. Mercer and Dr. Kyne decide to do.

Now… to go off track from Dr. Mercer and his strange tubes of strange liquids and medicine… I also started my first lesson with Nicole today. Didn't do anything major yet, just went over some procedures and showed me how to use the small medicine packs that we have on the Ishimura. With how things are compared to the ways medicine used to be back when, we really don't have to know much in order to patch ourselves up, right? Although, doctors and nurses are still needed for injuries that health packs can't fix… Some doctors even have to study psychology too. (Wait, who am I talking to? Doctor Kyne knows this stuff already… Not like he's in the past…)

After the small lesson (or review as I like to think of it), Nicole and I went out to have dinner- but we waited for mostly everyone to leave so we could have a private conversation to try and get to know each other better. Which is something that I thought was… pretty nice. The only other people on the ship that I'd accompany would be Doctor Kyne or the Captain, but with how busy their jobs are- they can't always socialize. Like all conversations with people you just meet, it's a bit quiet and uncomfortable. We didn't talk long, we touched upon why we wanted to work with medicine, some of our likes and dislikes, and then we ever so slightly got into the conversation of friends… Nicole's very pretty, so it was obvious to me that she had a boyfriend waiting for her once the Ishimura brought the Marker back. I envy that of her, she's fortunate... to have someone waiting to be with you and love you. Probably one of the downsides about growing up on the Ishimura, everyone is about 10-30 years older than you. In short, you'd seriously have to be desperate and slightly stupid to look for someone with that much of an age difference.

Hm… I'll end it here tonight. By the time I write my next entry, we'll have entered the orbit of Aegis VII and have the colony preparing the mining operation, as well as loading the Marker. To be honest, I'm not exactly excited about this- I overheard the Captain and the head of the colony discussing about the Marker and that recent events down there have begun to get a little crazy between the non- and the Unitologists. I suppose a riot over religion isn't all that farfetched…

Project Name: Vaccination of Immortality

File Type: Digital Journal

Date: April 10th, 2508

Alright, I lied. I feel the need to write a day beforehand, only due to how events have turned down on the colony…

The Unitologists down at the colony have done one of the stupidest mistakes that I've ever heard of for a damned religion…

Alright, let me quickly start from the beginning of how I know what's been going on. As I've mention a few entries ago, I help out with the computers and database here on the Ishimura when some people are too sick and extra hands are needed… Today, I was doing the same thing except everyone else had gone on break and that gave me the chance to find out a little more as to what was going on.

Apparently, the events that I mentioned the day previous weren't just "craziness"… It seems to be getting out of hand down there. I looked at the list of recent events on the computers, turns out there was a massive suicide outbreak including at least 50 or more people. Even more so, they have a long list of homicides and people that are now insane! Seriously, what in the world is going on down there?

I also heard that the Captain wanted to pick the bodies up from the morgue and bring them with us, but leave the living remainder of the colony behind. Why? They deserve a chance to be treated… but the Captain's reason is to make sure that whatever is plaguing the colony is kept and quarantined at the location. Even though we picked up roughly half dozen or less psychotic patients from the colony, including the first person to commit a homicide; Brant Harris… Who killed a nurse in the colony and attempted to kill a doctor. I've heard his name before… Mentioned by Dr. Mercer at times when the conversations between us become quiet- I'm going on a hunch that Harris is Dr. Mercer's other patient…

I'm going to end this for now, we've already picked up the Marker and we're mining the planet tomorrow. As for me, I haven't seen Dr. Kyne or Dr. Mercer all day… I believe they're looking at the Marker right now. Free day without meds- yep.

Project Name: Vaccination of Immortality

File Type: Digital Journal

Date: April 11th, 2508

Today… May actually be my last journal entry for a long time… right now, I'm stuck in Dr. Mercer's office with him, as well as another patient that has taken up residence in the neighboring tube next to mine…

A lot of events have occurred, yet none have affected me quite yet.

The ship is under attack, by what I do not know… but whatever it is its not human and their numbers are growing. Gratefully, they haven't broken into the medicine wing… Or if they have- they have not gotten into Dr. Mercer's office. The way they seem to get through the ship mostly is through the ventilation shafts, luckily- Dr. Mercer's room doesn't have any shafts and the doors to the room are locked… the window is still covered as well so whatever's out there can't get in or look into the room…

It's quite chaotic over here as I'm describing everything, and I feel the mourning of the loss of Captain Matthius… as he's apparently been murdered by Dr. Kyne in the matter of a few hours ago. I'm feeling great sadness as I think of what has happened to my make-shift family aboard the Ishimura… I don't even know what's become of Nicole either…

Dr. Mercer is telling me that he's going to continue the experiments, claiming that it might be the only key to getting out of this all alive… I still don't trust him, but I have no other choice… So thus, I'm ending my journal here and I shall be going into the tube. If we're lucky, we might actually still be alive… If not… well, we tried…

As for the continuation of the experiments… Dr. Mercer says he'll let me out when (and if…) the experiment works and takes effect. He's also taking me off the steroids completely and putting me on the stuff we were supposed to practice with; a DNA organism. He claims it's supposed to help the host… I have no other choice but to accept his method, hopefully I'll come back out in one piece. Or for the matter of whether or not I'll get out alive… If Dr. Mercer dies or runs… how will I get out…?

For anyone that finds this and I don't make it.

Good-bye.


	2. Chapter 2: Into the Mayhem

Chapter 2: Into the Mayhem

_It's dark… I'm wet… I'm scared… Why?_ _…Something is touching my face… It's slowly going down from my temple… it ends at my chin… I hear dripping, I feel it too…_ _Ugh… I feel… restrained… I can't open my eyes… My face hurts too much…_

I try to move… it does no good. Panic is overwhelming and I'm struggling harder now… But it's still no use, my body is weak and some parts are numb… I want to sleep again, but I know that'd be a really bad idea at this point…

"Your time is coming. No need to be frightened. No reason to fight," A familiar voice says calmly, patting my left arm. My mind is still jumbled, but I realize now that it's under the effects of a sedative. I feel whatever was patting my arm hover over my skin up to the left side of my face. Stroking the source of the dripping away from my cheek and behind my ear- the whole left side of my face is wet and as I begin to come to…

"What… what did you do…?" I gasp; layers upon layers of pain begin stacking up as the seconds pass and the sedative fades. _I feel like I'm going to scream, it hurts so much! My face… What did this voice do to my face! _I finally realize that the left side of my face is bandaged… and the pain is coming only from the area. I'm crying now… as the voice is "hush"-ing me (in the way a parent would "shush" their child after tripping and scrapping their knee). I feel a pinch on my left arm and everything begins to fade out as fast as I just came to…

"Everything is alright Vivien… It's alright… Rest… -w… -me…" The voice becoming more and more distant as my senses slowly started to be blocked off… Then nothingness once more…

* * *

_My face hurts… What is going on…? I feel… suspended again… Right, I'm in those tube things again… Uh… stasis tube… Was that just a dream before? No, it felt too real… The pain… Who was talking before…? Doctor Mer-_

"No! No! Nooaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh-" I open my eyes startled and glance around the room, I hear a muffled whirring noise. Some tool… Like a saw being used… Even with my eyes open, I still can't "see" anything (although my right eye is doing all the seeing, my left eye is still bandaged…). Everything is dark and blurry in this room, in Dr. Mercer's office…

I close my eyes again, doing my best to ignore the cries for help and the agony of the man beyond my tube…

_I'm scared… What if that's the things terrorizing the ship? What if they're attacking Dr. Mercer? …I can't do anything; I'm stuck in this stasis tube… I'm stuck… I believe… it's the end of the line for me at this point… May as well sleep death off… as that's the best way to go, or so I've heard…_

Sleep wasn't hard to attain… I'm tired, my body is tired… And the pain was starting to seep back… Sleeping the pain off is good too… I'm crying again, because I have a strong feeling I just lost another person in my life. Another person that I love and will never see again… I feel fatigue still overwhelming me, the pain from before slowly getting stronger.

_Why is this happening…?_

_

* * *

_

_**Bang! Bang! Bang!**_

I'm wide awake again from the events going on outside, and it's still hard to see beyond the stasis tube. I sigh and feel the air bubbles brush against my face, still listening to the gun shots being fired. My eyes droop as my exhaustion still lingers, but I'm curious about what exactly is going on.

As far as I know, there are two figures in the room, one on the floor and another standing. The one that's standing appears to be the one that fired the shots while the figure on the floor is lying in a crimson pool. I focus on the one that's standing, wishing desperately that I had enough strength to get his attention- to get out of this goddamned stasis tube… but he doesn't notice me, he's focusing on the muffled growling noises that I hear. I'm safe, while he isn't… I hear a muffled women's voice speaking before the figure on the ground miraculously stands again and moving towards the shooter. The shooter runs off…

_No… Don't leave me too…_ _Please…_

I close my eyes tightly, shaking my head a few times and bang my hand against the glass- hoping desperately that it would break and let me go… but it doesn't. I keep my eyes closed despairingly, my hand going back to my side as well once the room feels quiet once more. I'm doing my best to prevent myself from falling asleep again, despite the lingering pains I feel on the left side of my face.

_I know that was Mercer's voice back there… in that room, I couldn't see in… What'd he do to me?_

I freeze up, hearing a loud, growl nearby. All thoughts stopped, not even the pain I feel from my face is my focus now… The fact that I just got the attention of the wrong person, or thing, is…

_**Crash!**_

"Yuck! That stuff is disgusting to get into your mouth! Bleh!" I complain, coughing out the stasis water that I'd been sitting in for god knows how long… I'm on my hands and knees on glass, smelling the rancid odor this room always seemed to have- only worse now. I sigh a little, afraid of looking up at whatever got me out of the stasis tube. After a few moments, I bite the inside of my cheek once I hear its impatient growl- its eyes on me. I bring my head up and open my eyes (although the left one is apparently still covered), the first thing I notice are its eyes…

Its eyes are the only lively (if you can even call them that…), and eerie, part of this monstrosity's body. I can just barely see the silhouette of its misshapen body, but I can only seem to focus on its eyes- giving off an unnatural glow in the room (aside from the monitors at the table to the left of it). The creature's body obviously was not human, reeking. Hovering less than a foot from me where the two blades it bore at the end of its arms. A shiver crawls up my spine as I realize it is studying me as well...its gaze focusing on my bandage.

_Ah, fuck… Now what do I do? I just wish I could see a little better in here… Maybe there's something that I can grab?_

It seemed to notice my glances around its body or seemed disturbed by my terrified look (that is, if it can see in the dark- which it probably can just so my situation is so much worse) as it stood up completely and backed off, the blades being in a position where they couldn't do any harm instead of pointing down at me as they were before.

"Huh…?" I manage, my head recollecting the pain previously again… I still focus on the silhouette of the monster… the one that let me out from what seemed to have been my prison. I begin to stand up slowly, doing my best to hide myself from the creature standing only a yard away. A few moments pass during our stare down, it growls a little bit and slowly closes the gap between us- another shiver goes down my spine as it towers over me. It grunts this time as it points at my bandages with its right blade, quickly putting his arm back down when it sees me flinch.

It took me a moment to figure out that it wanted my bandages off. "Fine… if it makes you happy, I owe you for getting out…" I mumble once more, thinking that I'm finally going insane after all the events that have taken place. _If this is all real, I'm dead meat… If it's not, I'm officially more insane than the guys down at the colony… plus Dr. Mercer. _I take off the bandages quickly, despite the pain coming from that area. It's so much easier to see without the bandages, better than I thought. I still freeze as I look at the creature, being able to see more details of it- despite the darkness in the room.

_Perhaps it was human at one point…_ The creature looked as if it had… evolved from being human, despite the fact that most of the skin on its body was stripped away. Some bone could be seen; even the entrails were either seen or ready to just fall out… (Which was something that made me almost barf, no wonder it smelled like death…) _Is it possible that this is…?_

"You were not supposed to be awakened yet my dear…" A familiar voice says as the door behind this creature opens. I huff a sigh, looking around the room to busy myself and hide my emotions from Dr. Mercer. I take note that this room wasn't completely safe after all… There was a vent that seemed to have been covered next to my neighbor's broken tube. The vent is still closed and intact, which means that this room was still a safe zone… for now. I walk back over to the table that was next to my stasis tube, hearing some glass break under me as I walk. After shifting through the drawers I pull out a small med pack, my kinesis and stasis modules, and my journal cards.

"What we should really be focusing on is getting off the Ishimura, Doctor Mercer…" I retort, now getting my nurse Resource Integration Gear (or RIG for short…) on. I push the button on my back so the RIG would display my vital signs, which turned on the sky blue line along my spine. Once I get my gear back on and all set, I look directly at the Doctor- walking back to the spot I was in previously. The creature seemed confused as to what to do in the situation and turns to look at the doctor (which is when I finally realize that it has glass all over itself, having sympathy for it after getting me out- I begin to take the glass out of its arms). "What's going on? And tell me what the hell you did to me under those sedatives, Doctor Mercer. I have the right to know. Plus, what… or who," I add, not wanting to hurt the thing's feelings. "Is this?"

"No need to fear Vivien… Successors are here… our place… In fact, you're one… That is why my newest creation did not hurt you- despite your beating heart of the living." Dr. Mercer calmly states, walking closer to the two of us. I'm still taking out the shards of glass from the creature's flesh, it'd wince and grunt every few- but it is not bothered by the pain I'm causing it like I thought it would. I'm not even bothering to listen to what he's talking about anyway, except a few blurbs here and there… "Don't you see? This is the eternal life that our religion has been looking for. The Necromorphs, everything that's happening aboard this ship- is God's doing. All from the DNA organism that the… "

At this point, I'm starting to try and understand what he's saying. Especially since it has something to do with the experiments that I've been in for the past month… even though I still don't get what he's saying… _I feel like I'm back in school when the teacher is lecturing about something… except there isn't a bell to stop Dr. Mercer… _I shake my head at him, still taking out the shards of glass mindlessly- I stop every few to see if its wounds were bleeding, amazingly they weren't. His flesh didn't even look cut up after a few moments- then again, I feel like I'm going insane anyway. "Necro-what? Plus, how am I like your creation? I don't feel changed whatsoever…" I reply, walking over to the desk to put the shards of glass there and not back onto the messy floor. _Why do I care anyway? I should be worrying for my life instead of making the floor messy… Then again, I guess it's out of habit… Plus, he didn't even answer my question… Well… I guess I'll ask him when I get the chance later…_

Dr. Mercer chuckles a little (and might I add, that's a bit creepy alone), before turning his attention to his creation. "Go and find that engineer on the ship, we mustn't allow him to disrupt the Hive Mind's offering- understand?" He says, before walking over to the door the shooter left through and opening it. "As for you Vivien, I'd advise you to cooperate with me… Also, if you want to… _live_… then don't upset any of the Necromorphs aboard this ship and, of course, don't get dismembered…" He smiles a little bit as he stays near the door, as if he just told a joke and expected me to be laughing.

The creature nods and walks over to the now visible ventilation shaft, tearing it open with its blades, then pauses to look over at me- as if it wanted me to say something. "Come find me later, hmkay?" I tell the creature eventually, smiling a little appreciatively toward it (despite how hard that is…). It nods jumping into the vent and climbing its way up the shaft, then I turn my attention back to Dr. Mercer- my sympathy and all going right down the drain. "Hm, keep your com-link open… I'll be coming for you once I get my stuff from my room Dr. Mercer. When I get back, we're having a talk about all this…" I stare him down a little longer before turning to stand in front of the desk with the holograms and a vast majority of Dr. Mercer's work. "Also… what is your creatures name, its gotta have a name, right?" I don't look back at him; I just look at the holograms coming from the desk, reading several random words… but what's got most of my attention is the picture of another grotesque being on the top holo-monitor (Hologram plus monitor, get it? Ha… ha…).

"Mm, your interest in my creation amuses me a bit. Despite its horrendous looks and his easy ability to kill… you still care as if it were human… I personally like to call it The Regenerator, but… our engineering friend will most likely call it The Hunter. For he's now the prey in this little shooting game of ours, right? Vivien?" Dr. Mercer opens the door and I take one last glance of Dr. Mercer. He's walking upright, shoulders back… As if he's proud of what's happening. I don't believe he cares the least bit, but perhaps he knows there's no way out of here.

"The Hunter… I'll remember that…" I comment, looking back at the two shattered stasis tubes before walking over to the table with the pile of glass. I sit down at the table and look through the drawers to take out a new container. After assigning the container the job to take care of DNA, I set to work.

* * *

Not a lot of time had passed as I played around with the shards of glass… (With its flesh on it…ew…) Only to try and figure out more about what's going on. "Ugh, this is making me more confused… and disgusted." I complain, placing the glass back down and start playing around with my hair. The room is quiet; the only thing to be heard is the monitors and my hair dripping from the stasis gunk. "I want a shower…" I pout, picking the shards of glass back up to try and get all the pieces of flesh on to one shard. Once I finally get them all to one shard, I put the sample into the container. "There… finally…" I mutter crossing my arms and relaxing in the chair before my attention was directed to something moving in the vents above… I look around the room and glance at the open vent several times.

I quietly shuffle over to the empty vent shaft, some of my curiosity starting to overwhelm me.

"Vivien, this is Doctor Mercer…" His voice began; the hologram of the sound add-on off of my RIG. Judging from the room he was in, he was at the infirmary. The RIG made me jump… _Idiot, ugh! Now I need to see if anything heard that…_ "I need you to make a trip to the Captain's Deck. I'll let you know what you need to do once you arrive. The tram is waiting at the station beyond the Cryogenics Lab." Mercer continued, pausing when he heard something in the back ground and then a restless growl too. "Like I've said before, _do not_ upset any Necromorphs that you see…" Mercer rushed, pausing again.

"Ah… Your resour-" He started, the RIG cutting Dr. Mercer's voice off abruptly before he could continue talking.

_Obviously he wasn't talking to me there…_

I turned my attention to the door to my right, the one that Dr. Mercer had made his entrance in only a few moments prior. I hesitate; thinking of what _else_ could be out there on this ship, waiting for me… Once I start hearing something in the vent again, I quickly make my decision to leave the room- pausing at the door. "Would these… "Necromorphs"… treat me the same way as it did…? The Hunter…?" Vi ponders aloud, bringing her hand up to her left eye… "There's no use in sitting around…" I sigh, and, with a huff, I open the door.

_Well… This hallway seems unaffected… Except for two- oh, minor details… There's goddamn blood all over the floor and the hallway to the right elevator is totally blocked off! Jeez, what happened while I was gone…?_

The blood surprised me, in fact… I wanna hurl… but I trudge on towards the cryogenics room, leaning against the lockers in the hallway with my gag reflex going. _Ugh, come on Vi… just get into the next room, it should smell at__** least**__ a little better than in here… _I quickly open the door and step into the room, the smell was slightly better but… it was cold, it was foggy (due to being used recently, which made me feel stunned as this room was for major emergencies and fatal injuries… Hm… then again, maybe the doctors tried to save the patients…), and just overall creepy. I start walking over to the control box to the left of me, behind the large machinery used to freeze everything in the Cryogenics room. On the opposite side of the room, I try to tell myself not to look at the cryogenic tubes lined up at each side of the room, but I do so anyway- and man do I regret it…

To my surprise, there were more grotesque creatures (instead of gruesomely injured patients that I was expecting…), like the one that had broken me out of the Stasis Tube. Some of these distorted, monstrous faces… they were people I grew up with… All of them had the same body deformities too… Long, boney blades protruding out of their hands, their teeth were sharp fangs and seemed to be snarling, their abdomens seemed ripped open- guts showing for all to see, and there were even a shorter pair of arms coming out… Believe me, I wanted to barf…

"Oh! God crap! This one's eyes just moved!" I shout, quickly wishing I'd just keep my big mouth shut…

_**Clank… Clank…**_

I look around the room quickly to see if I was actually alone… I sigh, a little relieved that there was nothing there and quickly hurry to the small control box. The door seems to take forever to open; I can feel all of the Necromorphs' eyes on me.

The door opens and I can finally-

_Ugh, holy crap, not more pain…_

My hand reflexively covers my left eye before another shooting pain comes from my back. Something small was on the small of my back and the three shooting pains were coming from both shoulders and the base of my neck. I hurry into the control box incase if anything was in the main room that would join in. I'm pretty much freaking out at this point, I'm losing blood and the health on my RIG is depleting… Not good.

I reach to grab it and quickly grab hold of its… well… tentacles (har har, not funny…). I dangle the thing in front of me, gasping in horror as I take in its deformed features as well.

The little booger was screeching and struggling to get away from my grip. I move my bangs away from the left side of my face and, after the dangling grotesque being looks up several times- it finally stops struggling and just tilts its head to the side, with its eyes full of curiosity (at least, that's what I'm guessing). Like the crewmen, frozen in the cryogenic tubes- this was another monstrosity…Only, it was a baby… The tentacles I held it by were sprouting from its back (kinda like one of those ancient pixel games centuries ago that a documentary was made of… uh… Pokémon… and… I'm gonna guess it resembles a… Bulbasaur), at the ends of the long, red fleshy tentacles were sharp bone-like structures that closely resembled arrowheads, those bones were covered in my blood… The back seemed torn open, instead of looking in (as curious as I am…), I hold it a little further away so I wouldn't be tempted to look into its gruesome back. Its eyes were pure white, like it had no soul… the cheeks seemed cut up to the temple, giving it an odd evil smile and feral look to it… and under the body… are those… suction cups?

I move bangs out of the way again (evil hair…), doing so made the lil' monstrosity to… well, hum curiously. Its head tilted to the other side curiously.

_Ugh, I __**can't **__hurt a baby… That's just cruel… Even though punting babies is fun… sometimes_ … _in games… and it's not really struggling anymore… I guess I should do what Dr. Mercer says… not hurt it… Did he know it was here? What… else is out there?_

I place the Bulbasaur looking thing on the floor and head over to the tram door, opening it then walking over to the tram station. I look down and notice that the little Lurker (well, it _was_ being sneaky…) was following me, when it realized I was looking, it quickly ran over to the seating section and hid under the chairs. "Fine, you can come, but if you hurt me again- I'm punting you. _Hard_." I threaten, and then jumped onto the tram. The baby nightmare follows me onboard and starts rubbing its face against my leg- acting like an innocent kitten now.

Once I finish pressing buttons on the control panel of the tram, the door closes behind us and I look out the window at the empty station…

"The tram stations used to have so many people here… " I sniffle, tears streaming down. I put my hands on the window and watch as we slowly leave the station. The dark tunnels didn't seem as dark as it used to, like everything else, but… it's something that I wish I could have looked away from… "Several of th-the doc-cking st-tations…" I begin, stuttering as I talk. "There's blood… So much- so much blood… And the bodies…" I sob; the Lurker was crawling slowly up my back and nudging its head against my left once it reached my shoulder… but it helped me realize something… My task at hand…

"Okay, stop crying Vi… You _have_ to listen to Dr. Mercer right now… Get to the control deck and do what he wants… Find out what he's done to me… I'm going to get out of this place alive…" I tell myself, tears still dripping off of the right side of my face.

Despite the pep talk, I cover my mouth and continue crying…

_It doesn't matter… Everyone I know is dead… or insane…_


	3. Chapter 3: Iatramelia

Author's Notes: _Italics- Vi's thoughts or emphasis on speech_

I am so sorry for the long wait on this chapter, I really haven't had much of a great month... -_-;

-Cough- Anyway, hope you guys enjoy the chapter, and thanks a ton for those that reviewed my story. Chapters 4 and 5 should be up as soon as possible.

* * *

Chapter 3: Iatramelia

I had just stepped off the tram that stopped at the Captain's Deck, moving sluggishly with my grief. Getting as far as the benches at the waiting section to just try and take everything in. The Lurker that was with me at the tram still is, lying on my legs while I'm just stroking its head. Its tentacles weren't out anymore; they were pulled back into its body and its back was closed up. "I'm just waiting on you Dr. Mercer… why aren't you responding to your com-link?" I mumble, waiting anxiously as the growls of other nearby Necromorphs becoming more frequent.

"You're pretty lucky though…" I say after a while in the silence, talking to the Bulbasaur looking creature. "You have a mind of your own and you can do what you want now. If none of this was happening, you would've been used solely for the purpose of a limb or an organ, then tossed aside like junk…" I continue, pointing to its arm and poking the side of its stomach as I talked. The thing just looked up and tilted its head, not seeming to know what I was even talking about. "I don't even get why you're still here, you could have killed me by now, and before I applied the med packs for the injuries you gave me. Plus, I'm downright boring- all I've been doing is streaming out snot, that can't look all that entertaining to you…" I finish, deciding to give up and still attempt to piece together what's going on while I'm waiting.

The Lurker looked as if it was about to do something when my com-link _finally_ opened up, revealing a hologram of Dr. Mercer. "Sorry about the delayed transmission Vivien, something came up and it looks as if the prey has won this round of…" He trails off, finally realizing the abomination resting on my lap. "Oh ho, this is exciting. I didn't think another Necromorph would find you already… Or take a liking to you for that matter," he responded, looking down at the now curious Lurker.

"Yeah well… I'm thinking I got lucky; this little guy would've killed me…" I mention, thinking of how much my back hurt before using the med pack. I paused, watching how the Lurker brought out one of its tentacles and kept passing it through the image of Dr. Mercer's face- which was something that made me laugh… _Even though it's practically a killing machine, it still shows some curiosity that kids have… weird. _"Anyway, enough about what happened- what did you want me to do here anyway? The tram's gone so I can't go back until one of us manages to get a hold of the tram system again…" I asked, wanting to finish this conversation, get what needs to be done finished with, and get the crud outta here…

Dr. Mercer coughed once before continuing onto the matter at hand. "Yes, right. I need you to hack into the main frame at the Captain's nest, and then you need to get the ADS Cannon… Number… 48, offline- once you manage that, head back over to Cryogenics and get the Regenerator unthawed. I'll be keeping an eye on our three little intruders." I finally distract the Lurker so I can at least see his face at the end of the video. "Good luck with the other Necromorphs Vivien, the infant with you _should_ help show the others not to hurt you… Then again… what do I know?" he adds, smirking at me. "Let Altman be praised…" The video cuts off and ends the hologram video.

I sigh a little, waiting for my objectives list of my RIG to update and for the Lurker to move off my lap before I continue going. Like I expected, the Lurker crawled back up my back and rested on my left shoulder- the thing rank of death, yes… but that was the least of my problems… sadly. The Necromorph had all three of its tentacles out, two wrapping around my stomach as the little thing started to nuzzle the aching side of my face. I don't have the heart to say anything to stop it, it's as cute as the little guy is gonna get…

I pet the creature's head one last time before going down the long grey hall. Like I expected; the floor and halls were smeared with blood… there was even a decapitated corpse lying under a window with a large gaping hole.

I sigh as I look down at the corpse and continued down the hall, stopping in front of the bridge's door. "Come on Vi, you're just visiting Captain Matthius' chamber. Nothing's changed…" I tell myself, finally opening the door.

I step into the room and the pep talk starts to drain away from me. The room was completely empty… Even though this room was always supposed to have people in it… One thing that shocked me was the large, gaping hole near the control stations at the right of the room. Like everywhere else aboard the Ishimura now, the room gave a very creepy feeling. The bridge was a huge room, two computer stations at each side and an elevator beam in the middle of the room. I glance to my right to see the neighboring doors burst open and a big bloody mass on the other side of the elevator. The hologram screens around the room weren't responding either, all it showed was static. The walls all around the room were glass panes; it was hard to miss the darkness the universe presented us with… Through the windows you can see that the ship was going through the debris from when the Ishimura cracked the planet.

"Huh, we should all be dead by now…" I realized, laughing at the irony in the statement. "I mean the survivors should be dead… The debris should've destroyed this ship by now… Someone must've turned the defense systems on… Someone…" I mumble to myself, trying to think of what Dr. Mercer was keeping an eye on in the first place. _If Dr. Mercer and I were able to survive, aren't there more out there? …on the ship? There's no way Mercer could turn it on… You need two people for that… Man, I feel stupid for not thinking about this sooner, good thing I'm here anyway… _I quickly look around the room for a moment before running to the other side of the room, remembering what had happened last time in a big room.

Once I got to the other side, I jumped over the small flight of steps and once more to jump onto the small platform elevator. I tap the control pad for the hologram screen to show up. I hear something smash open and a feral growling noise nearby. I hastily press the floor button the platform was supposed to bring me to. The platform begins to descend, right before something had leaped over my head and landing behind the two of us. The Lurker seemed to have been the only one keeping an eye on the creature between us. Once we were on the bottom, the thing snarled disappointedly- leaving everything silent once more.

I quickly jog into the middle of the hall, stopping there as I glance at the four escape capsules. "They're all empty…" I mumble, some despair showing again. "How are we going to get out…?" I shake my head and continue onto the next room; "Crying over spilt Space Milk won't get you anywhere Vi…" _Sigh, I wonder what happened to him too… and Nicole…_

Once I get into the Captain's Nest, I give out a sigh of relief. The room was pretty much untouched; the computers in the room were working and everything. The Lurker hops off of my back and onto Captain Matthius' chair. The room was small compared to many of the other rooms onboard, in the middle of the room was the Captain's chair, facing the hologram computer. Beyond the computer was another window, like the bridge- it had a view of Aegis VII and the debris coming from it. Aside from the fact that the hologram windows for the defense system were left open and the emergency containers in the room were ransacked- the whole room was pretty much untouched.

I lace my fingers and crack 'em, shortly getting onto the system to look for the ADS Cannon No. 48. It doesn't take me long to finally power the one cannon down. After that I quickly hack into the private video files and camera footages aboard the ship. Scanning through the videos for the camera stationed in the Chemical Lab. The camera was black, but the sound was still there. "Nice job Dr. Mercer, you blocked the camera…" I sigh before going for the video of the Medical Lounge. To my relief, the camera wasn't covered in this area and got a good look of who possibly was the shooter in the Chemical Lab. "An engineer…" I mutter, guessing from the look of his RIG. After that, I'm searching through several video logs of the docking bay. Once I found out they were from the USG Kellion, sent by the CEC (Concordance Extraction Corporation… mouthful, no?)- it became easier to find out about the engineer and his "repair" crew. Awesome job at repairing the ship. "That engineer… is Isaac Clarke… the name is so familiar… where have I…" I trail off, feeling a little slow for not realizing this before. During my stunning revelation, the Lurker picked its head up once to look at me before laying back down again-bored. "Nicole's boyfriend, he's Nicole's boyfriend! I have to help him… I'm sure that's what Nicole would want me to do… But…" I pause to shake my head, I quickly download the links I need to hook up to the mainframe wirelessly- quickly rushing to get back to the Cryogenics Lab. "I have to help Isaac and Mercer at the same time… if they're enemies- then what do I do…?"

I sigh, trying to weigh between Dr. Mercer's wishes and Nicole's. With a huff, I turn towards the Lurker (yes, I am dubbing it this from now on). "Okay, come on. We gotta get going to Cryogenics, again…" I tell it- in which, the Lurker hops off the chair and follows behind my feet. Once we get to the staircase from the elevator platform, the Necromorph from before was waiting for us at the top of the steps… whoops…

This Necromorph, like the Lurker, had its mouth cut up to its temple. It had long fangs, despite being the remains of a human body, and was snarling down at me… the legs of the once human being was now gone and the remains of the legs formed together to make a tail with a boney blade at the end. Before I can make any more details of the grotesque being, it began crawling down the steps- I couldn't move, I was too afraid to move.

The leaping Necromorph whipped its tail towards us but missed at the last second, hitting the platform council- rendering the elevator platform useless. While the Necromorph was busying itself with getting its sights focused on me, I quickly fire a dose of stasis at it- slowing it down, giving us time to get to the tram station. As the two of us hurry across the control deck, it turns out the Leaper wasn't alone as several vent shafts break open. Their growls and snarls being heard as we reach the door…

I get lucky that the door doesn't take long to open. Even though the door was delayed with closing, despite that I feel a little relieved when I hear one of them cry out in agony. _Yes! Door must've closed on them! Yay, something going my way… for once…_ I keep rushing past the tinted windows, jumping over the corpse's legs. I can hear something snarl disappointedly beyond the windows and more noises behind me, and then it finally hits me that the Lurker wasn't even on my back in the first place. _God crap! I take it back…_ I turn around right in front of the door to the tram station, seeing that the Lurker was being chased by one of the Necromorphs… its tail now missing. I quickly use my kinesis module to carry the Lurker to me, slipping through the door to the empty station before it could follow us through another door.

I sigh of relief, holding the Lurker in both of my arms like a child would do to a teddy bear (the suction cups… are so… weird… and well, displeasing…) as I turn toward the tram station… that doesn't have a tram waiting for us. "You've _got_ to be kidding me…" I quickly rush us to the sitting area, placing the Lurker onto the seats as I attempt to contact Dr. Mercer… he doesn't respond. "Okay… I guess I'm doing it myself, man I got lucky that I can access Captain Matthius' files," I say to myself, quickly moving onto that and attempting to pinpoint where the tram was. _What the crap? Why is it all the way at the Hydroponics Station?_ I sigh and order the tram to get all the way back over here. I held my breath several times as I can still hear things moving around in the vents and behind the door… Clawing, growling, it's not safe here but we can't do anything but wait…

I sit down at one of the seats, feeling tired and out of breath from the running and adrenaline rush… soon running my fingers through my disgusting, stasis water drenched hair. The Lurker just watches me, even though I'm not paying any attention to it… I think because of that fact that the little baby monster crawled over the seats to lie down and rest on my lap. I roll my eyes at it, but it's not trying to act like a friendly creature like before… it was looking around the station, probably pinpointing all the noises in the vents- its tentacles were back out again, waiting. _I don't think those are going to even do that much…_

After a few minutes the tram could be heard rolling in nearby, once it finally does- I pick the Lurker up again like before and anxiously jump on board. My first order of business was to close the doors; I glance behind us and become relieved that nothing was there. Then quickly rerouting the tram back to the Cryogenic's emergency tram station… The tram begins to move and at that moment Dr. Mercer's beautiful face shows up on my RIG's holo-link.

"Doctor Mercer…" I began, still feeling slightly out of breath. The Lurker got out of my grip and began crawling around to my back and stopping at my left shoulder again, the little Necromorph seeming confused as to why I was breathing heavily in the first place- as if not understanding the concept of needing air. Well… when you're dead, who needs to breathe? "Do you still need me in Cryogenics or what?" I finally respond, fixing my hair since he was giving me _the_ creepy inspection look. I must've done something that really interested him as he raised an eyebrow at me when I moved my bangs out of the way.

"Yes…" He starts, stroking his beard. "I need you to unfreeze the Regenerator and rush to the Mining Sector. Our engineering friend is doing surprisingly well, if he keeps killing the wheezing Necromorphs at this rate he'll be challenging the Leviathan soon…" He turns behind him for a moment, as if Dr. Mercer was now the prey in his own game. "Look, I'll contact you later. May Altman be praised, Vivien… you're helping further God's plans for our race greatly." He smiled slightly before the holo-link turned off.

I cover my face with my right hand, shaking my head at what Dr. Mercer had said. _How is all this helping mankind?_ Then I shiver slightly, trying to think of what he was smiling about. "Ugh, I'd much rather be one of those grotesque monsters than find out what's going on in his head," I say aloud, petting the Lurker's head while I waited for the tram to reach its destination.

* * *

"Okay… so I just push these buttons here…?" I ask Dr. Mercer through the com-link. _Dude, why do I have to do this? I never even used this thing… and Nicole never taught me how to use it in case of emergencies…_

"Yes, that should carry his cryogenic capsule to the chamber, and then hit the red button to unfreeze him," Dr. Mercer instructed, sounding rather annoyed that he should be giving me instructions. Why isn't he doing this? "Head down to the Mining Sector and contact me once you get there." Shortly after the com-link closes, probably feeling that he'd given me enough instructions for the moment.

I do as I'm told and the capsule appears in the chamber. The Lurker is looking over my shoulder, keeping an eye out for any other possible Necromorphs that might come along, its three tentacles resting at each side of my hip and the third on my right shoulder. With a small huff I press the button once the Hunter's body (…carcass? Well, it is dead…) reaches the chamber and a bunch of steam come pouring out of the chamber.

My heart skips a few beats when I hear how enraged the Hunter sounds as it began to stand back up in the closed foggy chamber. From how it sounded, the Hunter must've ran into a load of trouble with the engineer, or frustrated over how it got frozen in the first place.

The doors in the chamber opened by default, in turn the Hunter quickly stomped out of the chamber towards our direction. The Hunter took one look at the control box and went into the vent in front. I look on, a little confused before turning to the door for the tram station. Before I could even take a step toward the door, I hear the vent shaft behind us burst open. I turn around, surprised. (Really? Should I even be surprised that it would come out of a vent when I _just_ saw it crawl into one?) The two of them seemed ready to attack each other. The Lurker's boney structures at the end of its tentacles opened up into three parts and were pointed at the Hunter. Meanwhile, the Hunter rubbed its two bone scythes next to each other. _Where was their fighting spirits when I needed them at the Captain's bridge? Sigh… they're strong and deadly, but they're not thinking logically…_ I patted the Lurker's head to show it that everything was okay; in return it retracted its tentacles into its back. The Hunter seemed a little agitated and ready for a brawl either way. "Come on, everything's fine. We're all… buddies here. No fighting." I say calmly, but firmly- not even quite sure in the first place what to even call their relationships…

The Hunter grunted, somewhat annoyed, before putting its boney scythes down. I sigh a little of relief, quickly stealing a glance of the big, empty Cryogenics room before up at the Hunter again. The Hunter inched a little closer, bringing its right blade up… it waited a few inches away with the blade in my face… probably waiting for me to flinch or move away… I didn't, despite the pain I feel on the side of the face (even with the pain killers the med packs come with) and… how easily this one Necromorph alone can tear me to shreds. Like I had expected, it gently moved the bangs on the left side of my face. The Hunter grunted once more with a tone of… approval, acceptance? The Lurker was even rubbing its face next to my left cheek again, seeming to purr happily at me.

"Okay… seriously… what's up with you two and the left side of my face?" I ask, backing up a little from the Hunter's blade. The two just stop and stare at each other a moment before the Lurker and the Hunter simultaneously motioned to the control box's glass. I sigh, fixing my bangs up again for a moment (to be honest, I'm a little afraid to see what I look like in the glass…). I take a few steps closer to the glass and see my reflection.

My face seemed downright normal… Okay, not exactly… The faint red blush my face always had faded, my skin was close to bed sheet pale, my right blue eye looked perfectly normal- bloodshot, yes, but nothing out of the norm… my crimson red hair looked lifeless as well… (Although I'm guessing I just need a shower…) Everything else on my body was covered… either by my bangs or my RIG. It's odd… the white on my RIG almost matches how pale my skin is too… I gulp a little before quickly removing my bangs, just not wanting to hesitate over something that may not be serious, placing them behind my ear. I wince at my reflection, seeing the difference automatically. My left eye was a bright blood red and stood out the most. It even seemed to give a slight glow… just like the Hunter's green eyes… There was no iris, everything was red but the pupil… even then it was just a darker shade, darker than my hair's color. The skin around the eye seemed fleshy and mutated; it also looked as if the scarred looking tissue was stretching out to my scalp and my left ear… The skin where the decomposing looking tissue met my pale skin was ragged- the line looking as if it was someone's heart monitor line at the ER. The destroyed tissue looked as if it was…

"Dr. Mercer… what have you done…?" I whisper, fighting back tears. My hands clenched and I turn away from the glass and to the table behind the console. I bang both of my fists on the table, my shoulders shaking while my mind races about what I should be doing next… about the newfound rage in my heart.

The Lurker jumps off my shoulder, I can hear its little feet pitter patter away… possibly into the vents to leave… Soon after that I hear a few footsteps and more silence… I'm alone… aren't I? I let out a sob and a few tears trickle down my cheek, closing my eyes when I remember how inhumane it is for me now. _I can't even feel tears down the left side of my face… I can't "fully" cry anymore… What's going to happen when… if… I get out of here? I'll be…_

I stop when I felt something touch my right shoulder and my left hip and open my eyes again. The first thing I noticed were the boney scythes, feeling as if they were going to slit my throat… It takes me a moment to realize it was the Hunters… A betrayal? No… a hug… or at least as close as it… no… he could get…

I slowly turn around in his light grasp and hug him back. Even though he reeked, it was… well… comforting (you know it's a sad day when you accept comfort in a hug from something that's dead…). He grunted a little, having a happy tone to it and rubbed its cheek against mine… the same side of the face that the two Necromorphs seem so interested in. I freeze up a little when I realize the back of my neck was being touched, it takes a few moments for me to finally realize that the small… tentacles… that were hanging from his mouth was touching me… they were curling, uncurling, and… well… lightly brushing over my skin. _Is he… kissing me…?_ Despite the slight awkwardness, a small- weird part of me seems to enjoy it. _What the hell?_

After a moment he stopped and began removing his boney blades, but putting them back when I began pulling away. "You want me to hold on…?" I guess after the process continued several times. He nods and I hear something from the vent. I freeze up again, but only the Lurker popped out- giving a small screech. The Hunter made a small growl noise in response to him before looking down at me again.

"Ya know… it'd be easier for me to go on your back…" I mention, finally realizing what was going on. I break his light grasp, looking back at him- feeling my face get hot, as if I'm blushing… which I'm not sure if I can do anymore… The Hunter grunted at me, giving it a small "Ugh, fine…" tone to it before turning and bending down, his scythes helping him keep his balance and holding him up on the floor. _I'm gonna guess that logic means nothing in death…_ I hesitate one moment before quickly climbing onto his back, my arms over his shoulders and both hands meeting a few inches under the Hunter's chin, I also bring both legs to his hips- hoping to god that my upper body strength can handle this. He slowly stood back up, not wanting me to fall off, I suppose. My head was resting on his right shoulder, mostly because I knew how much these guys liked the left side of my face… _Are people going to even accept me when I get out of here? …I could turn into a space pirate and get an eye patch I suppose…_

Once we're both in the vent, I look up and gulp…_ Okay, forget society… I just hope we don't find any more hostile Necromorphs… I guess the positive is that these vents aren't as dark as I thought?_

"Time for the Mining sector," I whisper as the Hunter jumps up and digs his scythes into the vents, climbing up from there. _I have a feeling that… Isaac's gonna need my help there… for Nicole Brennan… I hope your safe, Nicole…_


	4. Chapter 4: Slippery Encounter

This took a little longer than I had hoped, exams kept getting pushed back due to snow. Chapter 5 should be out by this weekend if all goes well. :3

Thanks to everyone that's been reading, reviewing, and watching my story and has been enjoying it. :3

_Italics_- Vi's thoughts or dialogue emphasis, depending.

* * *

Chapter 4: Slippery Encounter

_Ugh, my arms… How much longer…?_ Everything looks the same, every turn, every vent tunnel… My arms are even going numb from holding on for so long… We stop abruptly, the Hunter bends down and hits the vent with his blade. I burrow my face into the crane of his neck, knowing that we were going to jump down. He rubs his face against mine once before jumping.

I end up getting a major case of the butterflies when I feel the air brush against my face. (Heights... Something that never sat well with me...) It didn't take long for the Hunter to reach the ground, landing on his two feet. Meanwhile, I fell off due to my already limp arms from holding on for, roughly… an hour. (Okay, I'm exaggerating, but seriously?) It takes me a moment to open my eyes. _Ugh, great… my butt's gonna be sore now, too._ I look up at the Hunter standing in front of me; turning to face me, seeming as if he was smiling at me. I roll my eyes at him, looking around the room that we were in before looking up at him- giving a small awkward smile. _To survive a drop that long and not lose your legs… He's such a show off._

The room had an awful stench, the small hallway nearby giving off most of the smell. _Beautiful, gas pipe leak… oh well, least of our problems._ I look behind me, noting that the platform elevator there leads up to the Asteroid Control room. "Okay… so we're at the Processing level…" I mumble to myself, still looking around the hallway. When I look forward again, the Hunter was closer and reaching out his blade to help me back up. I grab onto the outer edge of the blade, as it wasn't sharp. I brush off my white medic RIG once I'm standing up again.

"Thanks," I said shyly, walking past the Hunter and pausing once I see the store sign. _Yes! Store! Something that can sell a **gun**!_ I rush up to the store, feeling abnormally happy to just see one. The stores are small, like everywhere else on the Ishimura, Earth, pretty much everywhere. The booth is pretty much the size of the one-door frames. (Not nearly as big as those ancient shop counters and registers they had on Earth way back when.) The hologram monitor had the symbol of the Ishimura on it; on my right side was a small monitor. To the left were three smaller monitors, some buttons, and even a slot for where all the wonderful goodies pop out of. I quickly press the button to enter the shop, revealing a list of items that I can purchase. I stifle a sob though, as I forgot that I don't even have my money on me. _Perfect… timing… Vi… Great move!_ I quickly switch over to my safe, thankfully there are some items waiting to be taken out. "Okay, four stasis packs, three small med packs, three medium, and… one large. And I only have enough room for… five things… Awesome…" I mumble frustrated with myself, I jump a little when I realize something was touching me, only for it to be the Lurker crawling back up on my shoulder. "Alright… Well… I'm taking some of those med packs and two of the stasis then…" I continue, quickly grabbing the stuff that was appearing in the slot.

Once I finish everything, I notice that the Hunter was gone. I glance over to the side at the Lurker, who had his tentacles back out defensively, and pointed over to the vile smelling hallway. (I'll admit it, the hallway doesn't smell as bad as rotting corpses and death, I'll give it that much.)

_Ugh, why must it be so loud in here too?_ I cover my ears as I wonder into the hallway, looking for the Hunter- sometimes coughing from all the gas. The Lurker points to my right to where the Hunter is standing at. He's standing alone at the blocked off entrance of the elevator, quietly growling to himself as he rubs his two boney blades together; sharpening them. "What are you doing all the way over there?" I ask, I wait a few moments for a response then sigh. _He's not even paying attention to me…_ "Look, I'm getting out of this hall; don't stand there all day…" I tell him before going back to the other hallway again.

_Hmph, well… the Hunter obviously doesn't need me right now… Maybe Isaac Clarke does?_ I pull up a map of the Ishimura, showing a map of the specific sector I was in. Since I have the map and access to Captain Matthius' files, the map showed which doors were locked, opened, specific information of rooms, videos… even the passwords to opening the doors. I start searching through the map, finding my RIG's signal and, amazingly, Isaac Clarke's RIG signal too. I zoom in on the map to see which room he's in, hoping for it to be a room with a camera. "Nope… He's outside of the… Mineral Processing Control room…" I mumble to myself pacing around a little with the hologram map following with me, I stand still and shrug my right shoulder.

"Couldn't hurt to try that camera anyway, right?" I bring up the list of cameras and start going down the list for the control room, after a good minute I finally find a camera and bring the video up. Nothing happens in the room for a few boring moments, the Lurker yawns- bored out of his mind, before crawling into my left arm to be held like a normal baby would be held. I feel awkward at first, as… well… the Lurker has suction cups on its belly, so that being in sight is... odd… then there's the fact that I've always hated children (and the small minor detail that I've never really hung out with kids in a few years…). Not really knowing what to do, I just sway back and forth- singing the first nursery rhyme popping into my head. Despite how happy the song was supposed to feel, I couldn't help but add the small despair that I felt...

"_Twinkle, twinkle, little star,_

_How I wonder what you are..._

_Up above the world so high,_

_Like a diamond in the sky..._

_When the blazing sun is gone,_

_When the nothing shines upon..._

_Then you show your little light,_

_Twinkle, twinkle all the night..._

_Then the traveler in the dark,_

_Thanks you for your spark..."_

I couldn't help but feel a shiver run up my spine singing the song to the Lurker, the rhyme seeming to have an eerie meaning now... Although, throughout the song, my attention still remained on the video hologram. I jump when I realize that the Hunter was behind me again, watching me with the Lurker and curious as to what I was even looking at. The rhyme was stuck in my head now, so I couldn't help but mumble out some more of the rhyme... "_He could not see which way to go..._" The door to the room finally opens and few growls, and shots, were heard from beyond the door before Isaac Clarke walked into the room. "_If you did not twinkle so..._" The Hunter growls of distaste when he sees him on the video, unable to resist the urge of rubbing his blades together. Even though it might just be me, I felt like I heard the Hunter growl out Isaac's name.

I sigh at him, while still watching- trying to listen to anything that could be heard I watch as Isaac goes in and out of sight of the camera's view, looking through the room and opening the emergency containers for possible ammo or health… but I laugh when he only finds money in the container. "Oh god… No wonder everyone's dying! Who's crazy enough to put credits into the safety containers?" I giggle a little, trying to imagine someone throwing credits at Necromorphs like they were plasma ninja stars or use them as bullets. _Then again, you could always use them at the store… Maybe credits aren't so bad..._

"That's the key, Isaac." A familiar voice began, coming from the video. "It'll get you into the Control Room so you can launch the asteroid. Don't forget to attach the beacon first…" She continues on, but like what I did to Dr. Mercer and his many speeches- I tune her out.

_Okay… Beacon… Beacon… I know she's talking about the S.O.S. beacon…_ I stop watching the video to go through the map and checking the videos of the storage rooms until I found the one for Maintenance Storage. The beacon sat on the table, seeming like a trophy of hope near all the cluttered mess about the room. _To the maintenance room! …Why am I so cheerful right now?_

I take the holograms off and turn to face the Hunter, who had stopped acting the way that most living men act about fighting. "I need to get into the vents…" I said, with a small awkward smile, hoping he wouldn't know where I was going in the first place, to avoid the two fighting. After a moment, we walk up the other slope near the Bench and to the vent. The Hunter rips the vent off from the top, leaving the shaft mostly intact- enough for it to be put back on at least.

The Lurker begins to become a little more active again, hopping out of my arm and into the now opened vent- probably to go check if there was anything waiting. I look up at the Hunter and glancing back down several times- not really sure about what to say. "Uhm… Look, when I'm done with what I need to do I'm going to have the Lurker go get you… There's no way I'm going to be able to climb back up the vents on my own." I tell him, the conversation hanging in the air again. I feel awkward, especially with what had happened in the Cryogenics Room… where he hugged me. I look at the Bench and sigh once. "Don't… Don't be late."

The Hunter nods slightly and the Lurker comes back with a small screech- his tentacles spread out and motioning for me to get into the vent. Once I hop in, I turn back around and wave once at him before using my Kinesis module to grab the vent and fit it back on. I peer through the vent at him one last time before rushing off to the Maintenance Floor below.

* * *

"These are one of those moments where I question the ship designer… I mean, seriously? These vents are huge! No wonder these Necromorphs are all over the ship…" I point out, half talking to myself and half talking to the Lurker. To be honest, these guys don't really seem like monsters… to me at least.

The Lurker just screeches in response, but seeming more alert for other Necromorphs than answering my question. _Although, I wish I knew what you guys were saying sometimes… I'm always out of da loop… Then again, do I want to know?_

After wondering around forever in the vents, I finally find a shaft that looks promising. I look out of the shaft to see if there was anything to stand on, there was… and the drop down to the platform was do-able. I kick the thing several times, only for it to not budge… "Okay… You're asking for it…" I mumble, playing around with the kinesis module to put it into override mode. My left hand begins to glow a bright blue, my hand clenched. I spread my fingers out, my palm in front of the vent shaft- the blast easily overwhelming the grate and hitting the floor with a loud, metallic thud.

I hesitate going out, waiting to see if there was anything out there that heard the sound. I sigh and slowly crawl out; nothing was there on the long platform. I look down the platform, and then glance behind me. _Oh, I know where we are now…_

I'm standing on a long platform behind a wall. Down the platform was nothing, save for the occasional explosive containers. (Yeah... I'm not sure why we have those either...) Between this platform and a second one was a large gap and the trolley cart rail. Behind us was a door to the next room. Like all the Necromorphs aboard the ship; the room rank of death- coming from the walls and the platform… due to the gunk that covered them. _Did someone throw up their guts all over the walls? Ugh, this place is absolutely disgusting…_

"Okay, so where do I need to go from here?" I ask myself, quickly pulling up the hologram of the Mining Sector. The room I needed to get into, the Engine room- was right next door, thankfully. _That's good; I don't have to go too f-…_ I jump when I hear several shots go off in the distance, shaking my head once before looking back. I play around with the map a little longer to have the RIG signals on the ship show on the map. I look to see what signal was closest to mine, surprisingly, it's Isaac Clarke. "Just the person I was looking for too… and if he's going to try to get into the Storage Room nearby… he's going to need my help getting into that room…" I say aloud, pointing out the locked room on my hologram. "Of course, if he's lost, then I could at least help redirect him…" I shrug once, then look down at the Lurker and sigh. I pick him up- holding him in a way that he'd have to look at me. "Look, I need you to go find the Hunter for me… There's no way I can climb back up the vents." I tell him; in response the Lurker just coo's and nods once. In turn, I place him in the vent- watching him quickly scurry out of sight.

I feel a shiver go up my spine when I hear the gondola getting closer, my heart racing as I hear rounds being fired. I remain in the same spot I'm in; out of sight. Until the gondola is about to dock, I take one deep breath and step out. "Isaac! Is that really you?" I ask, pausing as he turns his body to face me, but says nothing. "I can help you… Come with me." I suggest to the next room before moving out of sight.

I pause in the doorway, taking note of all the growls coming from the vents. I take another deep breath before rushing to the controls, waiting for Isaac to come into the room on the opposite platform. I start bringing up the files that I need so I could jump to it once he comes in. _He sure is taking his sweet time…_ I sigh after it's taking him… or the door, forever to open. Isaac finally walks into the room, Plasma Cutter drawn. "The beacon is in the storage room next to you, I think I can disable the lock from here… hold on." I tell him, turning my back to him.

Once I set to work on the controls, my heart begins to race as the growls of nearby Necromorphs could be heard. I curse under my breath when I have to hack the door instead of using Captain Matthius' password…_ God crap! Someone changed it!_ A vent shaft a yard or so away burst open and a Necromorph, like the ones in the cryogenic tubes, crawled out. I sidle as far away as I could while still at the controls. A sigh of relief escapes my lips when I hear a few shots being fired and the Necromorph doubles over- dismembered.

"Come on, come on…" I repeat, getting denied constantly as more Necromorphs come busting out of the vents. Several of them got too close, to the point that I had to move away from the controls- the numbers seeming too much for Isaac to handle. I hear him grunt in pain several times, being attacked too. _I'd help… but I have no weapon, how could I help other that opening a door for you?_

After hearing a shriek behind me, I feel three sharp shooting pains on my back._ Beautiful, another baby monster…_ I continue hacking the system, almost getting slashed at (or even shot at…) several times. All the Necromorphs are dismembered when I finally manage to unlock the door. "Okay, the doors unlocked, Isaac." I cheerfully tell him, turning to face him. "I can't get over to you… but I'll find a way. Hopefully… this'll all be over soon…" When I finish talking, I carefully head over to the door- walking over the dismembered Necromorphs in order to get to the door.

"That was a close call…" I say to myself with a sigh of relief- quickly applying a medium med pack for my injuries and getting my vitals in check. When I'm done, I slide down to the floor with my back on the door. I can hear the gondola leaving with Isaac on it. I_'m better off not interacting with him much…_ I sigh, thinking of what other difficulties lay before me… before us… _I really do hope it's all over soon..._

A com-link opens up from Dr. Mercer; the RIG only puts up a hologram of the voice module and not a video. I place my forehead on my arms once I bring my legs up to a fetal position, still shaken up from before. "Vivien, abort the plans for the mining sector," he begins. _Whoops, I had plans here? Oh well, that's what he gets for not saying "hi" every once in a while… I'm not your errand girl, marker head._ I'm not paying attention to his rambling again, I have my eyes closed- trying to picture something to get my mind away from this place… but all I can picture are the faces of those monsters… I half-open my eyes again when I realize he was talking about my new chores. "Blah… Nav cards… blah… sleeping quarters, blah… control deck… blah… Got it?" Dr Mercer finishes, waiting for a response.

"Yeah, yeah… get to the sleeping quarters. Got it," I respond with a sigh, standing back up and moving back to the other room when I began hearing a lot of rounds going off again. "Dr. Mercer… I have so many… questions… for you…" I hesitate so that my words are not filled with the venom of hate and distrust that I wish to fill them with. Even more thought going into the question itself. "But… Why… What's going to happen if your plan, if you have one, doesn't succeed…?" I ask, expecting an answer that only an extremist would give. _Hmph… if anything, I want to know why he chose me to experiment on… what he plans on using me for… what the experiment is even supposed to do in the first place… but, no… I need him on my side… If he realizes that I'm on the survivor's side then I have one more problem to worry about…_

On the other end, Dr. Mercer laughs at the question before stopping abruptly. "Well… if they do succeed… it's still impossible for them to survive either way. The odds are against the survivors; even if they can kill the Necromorphs- they can't escape the Ishimura's grasp- thanks to Dr. Kyne and sending off a vast majority of the escape pods… In the matter of time Orbital Decay shall occur, where the Ishimura shall drop the planet cork and, due to gravitational pull, impact Aegis VII… Once that happens, there will be much debris from the impact, too much for the ADS cannons to handle. If we don't get away on the last shuttle… well, the USG Ishimura will be looking more and more like Swiss cheese before we know it." I don't respond… I can't… I'm beyond stunned by his response... "Vivien, I will talk to you about this matter later… you're future is just beginning… We have our own shuttle stashed away, our problem is getting the Navigation Cards- which is why you must get them… we are also missing the Singularity Core, but I'm quite sure our resourceful engineering friend will solve-" He stops abruptly, followed by something crashing in the background, then two shots going off… along with several muffled noises that could barely be made out as voices… "Vivien, I must go… Jacob Temple and Elizabeth Cross send their regards."

I pace back and forth on the platform, kicking off the deceased Necromorphs to the floor below, listening to their bodies make a "plop" sound when they hit the floor. "I cannot believe… I'm in… this situation… right… now!" I shout, kicking each body to the ground below in between words. After kicking the last one off, I stare at the door on the opposite platform. "Well… maybe, if I can get the Nav cards and meet up with Isaac and his crew… We could just get out of here? Shouldn't be too hard, right? I mean… since I helped Isaac out, maybe he'll help me back?" I say aloud- sounding positive, running my hands through my knotted hair as I try to think.

_So much pressure on one's shoulders… Why mine? How can I be that promising? Why am I allowed to be one out of the many crew members to live? Hmph, even if I do get out on that shuttle… I'm going to be out casted… no, killed… I will be killed if anyone sees my left eye… What's the- Ah, hell… not more, not now…_

A vent at my feet is ripped open by two boney blades; I quickly back away from the pair. _Hunter… Hunter, please Altman- let it be the Hunter…_ As much as I had hoped it was the Hunter, it wasn't. The blades were thinner, shorter, and even coming out of intact human hands… just like the Necromorphs that were slashing at me only a few minutes ago.

We both stand there, waiting for the first one of us to move. The Necromorph charges at me, tired of the waiting game- before it could strike I use stasis on it before making a run for the door. The door, sadly, takes forever to open. When it finally does, I get lashed at by the Necromorph's boney scythes. I gasp from the pain I feel, but quickly use stasis on it again.

_Oh great, where do I go? The Hunter and the Lurker aren't here… I have no weapon either!_ The Necromorph's body is still in motion and raises its blades. _Crap! RUN! Move! Go! Stupid legs!_

I jump back up from the ground and decide to (stupidly) run on the slippery crap that's layering the floor. After a few running steps I fall down with a thud, I try to get back up on my feet but keep slipping from all the slimy guts on the ground. I hear its growl and turn around to face it, doing my best to slide back on the slippery gunk from the Necromorph. _Great, I fall and slip, but that thing keeps perfect balance on this crap. Thanks God, thanks a lot… I don't even have anymore stasis either and not enough time to recharge it..._ The Slasher brings up both of its bone scythes when it's in front of me, before I close my eyes and bring my arms up to cover my face. (As if that'd do anything…)

I hear a loud enraged roar and expect it to be the end…

I whimper a little and stay still for a few moments until I hear an agonized growl. I open my eyes to see the Hunter's two blades going through the other Necromorph's back. Raising the Slasher a bit above the ground, it struggles- trying to get out of the Hunter's grip but only making its injuries worse. The Hunter tears one of his blades out and slices the Slasher's left scythe and both legs- the limbs falling down to the ground. The Necromorph's last blade attempts to still reach for me, trying to swing at me- but the Hunter slices the torso with both blades diagonally, the remains dropping to the floor.

He growled furiously at the remains of the Necromorph. From just looking at him, you could tell that he definitely was not finished with venting his animosity for that Necromorph's move. I glance back and forth between him and the remains that lay at my feet, wide-eyed. I didn't realize I was crying until the tears were rolling off my chin and onto my RIG. Likewise, I don't believe the Hunter realized either. He lowered his bloody blades and stepped back to give me some space.

I close my eyes and cover my mouth with my left hand, my body shaking. _I just almost died… How much more of this can I take? Why are they attacking me but not these two? …And that… Slasher… it still tried to kill me as it was dying… it… It didn't even care for its own life… it just wanted to kill…_

It remains silent for a while… trying to recollect myself and my remaining sanity from all of these events. I take my time getting up and walk over to the two Necromorphs- trying to ignore the squishy noises the layers of mystery goo made with each step. I wiped away a tear or two before looking up at the Hunter. "Thank you…" I mumble with a shaky breath following that, as well as a small unexpected hug from him again… His grip seeming a little tighter and closer this time, like he shouldn't have left me out of his sight… "It's fine… I just want to go… You need to continue your job and I have to go do mine…" I state after a while, the Hunter withdrew his blades and bent down so I could get on his back.

"Wait…" I reluctantly said, before I climbed onto the Hunter's back. "I want you two to promise me something… Promise me… that you won't go after any of the survivors, stay away from them…" I say it loud enough for the Lurker to hear as well, but it's just silent between the three of us… as if the promise can't be made… I sigh a little, hopping onto his back- disappointed. _I wish I wasn't so attached to you guys... Even if there is a sense of human personality still there, you're still... monsters... killing machines... I bite my lip at the thought, really wishing that it wasn't true..._

My mind lingered on my thoughts until the Lurker crawled out of the vent and hopped onto my back, wanting a free ride as well. "Okay… who else is getting a piggy back ride from the Hunter?" I tease, giggling at the end and actually smiling. _Never thought about how silly it is that I'm getting a piggy back ride from a killing machine..._ The Hunter grunts in the way that it makes it seem like he was chuckling at me, shaking his head as well. In response, he sways from side to side, teasing me back. I hold onto him tightly as to not fall onto the guts crap layering the floor. When he stops, the Hunter turns his head to the side, seeming like he was smiling at me.

I roll my eyes at him, feeling a little better from all the teasing- resting my chin on his right shoulder. "Come on, you really are giving out piggy back rides." I continue to tease, the Hunter began to sway over to one side again. "Okay, okay, okay, okay- sorry. Jeez, just... don't let me touch that _yucky_ stuff again alright?" I plead; he stops and starts to get up- seeming like he was smirking at me again. "Let's just get to the Commons already… or at least to a tram station." The tone of my voice surprises me; seeming unbelievably joyful… but it doesn't take long for me to remember my close call just moments prior either…

The Hunter jumps into the vent, jumping up and using his scythes to his advantage once more. Meanwhile, the Lurker would coo or screech, depending on whether or not he was rubbing his face into my hair. Whenever he screeched, the Hunter would grunt back with an angered tone. _Ugh, they're probably complaining about who's a faster climber…_ I roll my eyes, thinking of how ridiculous that kind of conversation would be. _Oh well…_ I'm still preoccupied about that one Necromorph… the one Slasher… How it was reaching out to me, it bothered me_. Was I right that it was trying to attack me? ...Or was he pleading?_ I shake my head several times at the thought, thinking of how that was more ridiculous than the Hunter and the Lurker talking about climbing.

_I just hope… everything becomes a little easier… I don't know how much more of this I can take…_

_…But one thing's for sure… I'm going to miss these two…_


	5. Chapter 5: Awakened Nightmare

I am so sorry that this chapter didn't get out during the weekend. Had a research paper and most of my writing time went into that. Further more; this chapter will be the last one for a while. Yes, I'm going on hiatus. I'm not very creative or in much of a mood to do much during the month of March. It will be a very rough month for me, if I find comfort in writing, then expect to see Chapter 6 out some point in March. Otherwise, don't expect anything until April-ish.

About Chapter 5, I had a lot of fun planning this chapter out, writing, it, and reading it, just like Chapter 4. Despite the fact that this is my shortest chapter. I've had all positive feedback for this chapter, but I still feel like there is only a 50-50 chance about this chapter. Some may really enjoy it, others may really hate it or be weirded out over it. If there are any questions, don't hesitate to ask.

I want to thank everyone for favoriting, watching, reviewing, liking, and overall just reading my story. Know that the story would've only had two chapters up here if it weren't for all of you guys. =]

**Disclaimer:** Yeah, I've seen a lot of other people doing it. I just kinda assumed... Anyway, Dead Space universe, some dialogue, and _all_ character names are owned by the Dead Space team. Yes, all. I try to hide as many easter eggs in this story as I can, down to Vivien Ding's name. Her name is on a text log in Chapter 4: Obliteration Imminent as Ding, V. The same goes for her pre-Unitology last name; Zelaya. The name Vivien and Fay themselves are mine, however.

_Italics: _Vi's thoughts.

**Bold: **You'll see. ;3

* * *

Chapter 5: Awakened Nightmare

The tram arrives at the station of the commons, a shiver crawling down my spine upon its arrival- getting the eerie feeling that I'm being watched… The Hunter also no longer being nearby is also on my nerve as well…

I nuzzle the Lurker once before walking down the steps and into the lounge, his purring being the only noise in the once bustling room. The room's empty, save for the garbage and the scattered belongings of many people. Sitting booths were on each side of the staircase and a table opposite of us was over turned. At the upper right corner of the room was a platform elevator, next to that sat another store (wish I had my store credits…), and then there was a door next to the store leading to the Zero-G Ball court.

I walk over to the platform elevator, going up to the second floor and pausing to look over the dark, dismal room below. "There used to be so many people here… Lurker…" I sigh, going to the railing and shifting my weight onto it. _It's weird overlooking this room now… I remember my first time in here… Hmph, those security guards were retarded… not able to catch a young stow-away… Idiots…_ I shake my head, walking to one of the two doors on the level; unlike the previous hallways and rooms, this hallway was nicely carpeted with a ruby red rug lined by a nice gold color on the floor (can't say the same for the walls…). Most importantly; this short hallway didn't have any blood or signs of death… untouched… _Like it was supposed to be… _

The hallways lead to an elevator, bringing the two of us up to the executive lounge. The best, of the best got these bed rooms on the Ishimura. Even then, it wasn't much. "Captain Matthius…" I sighed, thinking back to how Dr. Kyne was the one who had done the deed… "Dr. Kyne… Why…?" I sigh one more time before clearing my throat and started to focus; checking on whether or not we were alone. The room seemed roughly untouched; beautiful red carpeting, big, red poof-y sitting chairs and… oh, the dead bodies of the two other executives. I walked over to quickly check one of the bodies, they were both fairly cold; unfortunate for them, but a good sign for me.

I rush over to Captain Matthius' bedroom, figuring that… of everyone, he should have the Nav cards. Fortunately, the first one was found shortly after rummaging through his belongings. "Ugh, this going to take forever, Lurker…" I complain, sitting at the foot of the bed and feeling a chill slither up my spine. _Okay, maybe it's not just in here then…_ I rub my temples, trying to think of a plan. "Alright, Lurker… We're going to play a game of scavenger hunt. Look in the rest of this room; see if you find any more of these…" I pause to wave the disc in front of his face; as if he were a bloodhound looking for a scent. "I'm going to go into the other rooms and just get a general search there…" He gave a small screech before jumping off my shoulder and running to one of the drawers to rummage through. I smile at his enthusiasm to help me before running out to a random room.

Several minutes had passed and I just finished turning the room inside out for the card. I sighed- frustrated, as I walked back into the lounge- pausing when I heard something move in the vents above to be quiet, but resuming once the noise had faded away. I kept looking up at the ceiling as I walked, only to stupidly trip over one of the corpses. "Great… how can you save a life if you can't even watch where you're going?" I mumble to myself, quickly sitting up but finally getting a good look at the bodies- or, more importantly, what they were holding; the Nav Cards. "God damn it! Gimme those!" I ripped the discs out of both of their cold, hard hands. "Yes! I found them, Lurker!" I called happily, holding up all three before putting them away into my inventory. The Lurker had crawled out of the bedroom, screeching loudly and cheerfully- more to see me happy than for me to have all three of the discs.

The Lurker jumped onto my lap before I could try to get up, his overall mood making me smile more than I should… Before I could get up, my com-link had opened. "Vivien! Meet me in the lounge of the commons deck! I'd advise you to not bring the infant with you or any Necromorph for that matter, alright?" Dr. Mercer rushed.

As fast as the com-link opened, it was off again. I glance down at the Lurker on my lap, feeling a little disappointed. The Lurker falling suit with a sad cooing noise, I pat his head as I got up from the floor and started to leave the room- holding the little guy in my hands. "Hmph, I don't care what Mercer says- you can still go…" I stopped in my tracks as soon as I thought of the vents. I look up at one of the many vent shafts on the ship before continuing. "He said I can't bring you… but he never said anything about lurking around in the vents… Just behave and stay in there until I say so…" I told him, the Lurker looking up at me with big eyes- having a sad purr as he rubbed my left cheek. I nuzzle him back before letting go of him and watching him climb to the vent above, whipping out his tentacles to tear the sheet of metal up before disappearing out of sight.

I continue my way to the lounge, picking up my pace as moments passed. _What's wrong? Why the sudden urgency, Mercer? More importantly; why couldn't I bring the Lurker this time? I thought you loved Necromorphs…_ I sigh, waiting for the door to open. _I have so many ques… tions…?_

Once I enter the room, I look down from the balcony and quickly realize why I couldn't bring him.

_Survivors… Survivors!_

I hurry over to the elevator platform, my excitement of seeing survivors overcoming my judgment. I figure out a little too late about _why_ the survivors were here. They were all crowding around Dr. Mercer… shouting at him, ridiculing him, their voices being filled with the poison of pure hatred for him… The sound of the elevator lift going down had distracted them, redirecting all of that attention to me. At this time, I finally realize that several of the men were holding onto the lethal tools aboard the ship… such as Jacob Temple, one of the head engineers, holding onto the Plasma Cutter.

"Just the other person we wanted to see…" Temple said with open arms, acting calm and, sarcastically, inviting. His act ends with a scowl and motions with the Plasma Cutter to join Dr. Mercer, sitting in the middle of the group. In the middle of their lethal gazes... My fear told me to run... but my instincts told me to stay.

"Okay, let's get this over with…" One man sighed, reloading a Pulse Rifle. _The only exception to the "lethal tools"… wonderful, the gangs all here… _"I say we get rid of Dr. Mercer first…" Several murmurs of agreement go through the group.

Dr. Mercer smirks at them, glancing over at me once then back at everyone else. "Now, now… there must be a better way to deal with this than to kill me… and, Vivien." He calmly says, seeming to be biding some time.

"Shut it, Mercer! We're fucking tired of your garbage!" The man with the Pulse Rifle shouts, aiming the weapon at Mercer. "This is as much as your fault as it is Dr. Kyne's and Captain Matthius'! If it weren't for this illegal mining and you _marker heads_, then we wouldn't be in this mess!"

"Hm… Now… if you want to blame all of this on someone, it's God. If you're not a believer then he truly won't have mercy on your soul. Don't you see? Everything happening aboard this ship, it's all apart of God's plan," Mercer replies, not in the least bit afraid of the guillotine that he's waiting for; continually preaching about Unitology. "Besides, if you kill me, then you have Vivien to deal with. She'll kill you, all of you." Everyone in the crowd looks skeptically at me, whilst I'm looking straight at Mercer- my mouth agape, completely stunned by what he's saying. _I can't kill them, they have weapons! I. Do. Not. I'm not able to take them all down, what else do you want from me? I am not a killing machine! _"I see that you nonbelievers continue to show your skepticism. Look at Vivien's left eye, it shows that she's already beginning to change into one of them." _You…_ "Look at her left eye for yourselves! She'll resemble the Necromorphs aboard the ship before you know it!" His voice began to rise as he talked, and several of the men had shifted their weapons' directions to me… others, being unsure of where to aim and switching between the two of us.

My eyes widened once he finished, my body shaking. _You… You… _**_You_**_ asshole! You're using me as fodder! Fuck you! Go to hell! _**_That's_**_ why you needed me down here! So that you could run away, I trusted you; damn it! _ I wanted to hit him, but I knew I had a ton of damage control to take care of. I just looked away from Mercer and down at the ground, my hair helping to cover my face… to hide myself away from this world... to be left in the dark where I can't see their gazes on me. I hear a few footsteps come forward, my heart begins to race… _No... No, no, no, no... _I break into a small sob, feeling the stray tears roll down my cheek. The person in front of me stands there for a moment and everyone in the room is silent. _This can't be happening... _The person kneels and holds my face firmly in their hand, bringing my face back up from its hiding place- for everyone to see. I close my eyes, wishing everything was a dream; a nightmare, my imagination, something! Anything other than reality…

I feel metal brush my skin as my bangs were moved out of the way for everyone to see. I heard several soft murmurs, but I tried not to pay attention what they were talking about… I sigh; the fact that this is my reality and that it'll never change, no matter how much I want to hide from it all... I open my eyes. First thing I notice is the person that's holding my face so fixedly in one place; Jacob Temple. _Why can't I just be left a lone?_

There were more murmurs now, one person pointing out the obvious. "Look, at how red her eye is... Mercer must've messed her up pretty badly... Wasn't that where _he_ was stabbed too?" _Wow, don't they feel special for pointing out the obvious… _I ignore his last comment, however, assuming that 'he' was a passed away crew member.The person probably felt so much self-esteem about figuring that piece of information out that they wanted to shout out another fact; "And the skin... disgusting; look at how shriveled up that area is..." Only a few wanted a good look at me, others just looked like they wanted to kill me and get this all over with.

Temple lets go and backs up a step, holding the Plasma Cutter pointed at me so I wouldn't try to run... as if I had a choice... Even though he let go of me, I don't move an inch- but I just keep staring up at him, looking into the face of, what could be, my death. "I think we've all made up our minds then…" Temple finally said once the room had quieted down again. "She's too dangerous to be kept alive… especially when she might be turning into one of those monsters. Vi needs to go… _now_." I grimace in response, but I bring my arms behind me; an instinct telling me to get my stasis and kinesis modules ready. Going down with a fight? You bet.

Temple brings the cutter to my forehead, execution style. I continue to look up at him, refusing to allow my sight to falter... the pain in my left eye coming back... _If I'm going to die... By you, Jacob... Then I hope my gaze follows you to your demise, I've done nothing wrong... Nothing..._ I brace myself for the shot, but instead I hear a metallic thud and a blood curling screech. "Damn it! Not more of these damn babies!" Temple shouts and I hear shots being fired...

"No!" I scream, knowing exactly who they were shooting at… I fire a dose of stasis at those that were shooting, then switch over and use kinesis to take someone's weapon and whip it to the other side of the room, continuing the process until no one had a weapon near them. I could feel my animosity towards them rising, taking note in Dr. Mercer running to get the weapons before going up the elevator platform… Instead of checking on the Lurker like I wanted to, a darker part of me inches to attacking them all…

**They need to die… they don't deserve to survive… by killing someone innocent… Only the infected should survive…**

Before I could resist, I was already running at the man holding onto the Pulse Rifle before. Realizing now that my left glove was torn to shreds. The skin on my fingers were receding… decaying… while the boney tips were nice and sharp… perfect for cutting… perfect for penetrating the skin… wonderful for killing…

I try to stop myself… but it's already too late… I jammed my index and middle finger into the middle of his forehead, the crunch of his bone being sickeningly satisfying for me to hear… I could feel my fingers penetrating the brain, pulling out quickly before stasis had faded away from his body and allowing gravity to drop his empty husk to the ground. There were a few quiet gasps as they realized what was going on. Several of the women in the group of the survivors ran for the stairs, hoping to escape on the tram. Others crowded around me, thinking that they could take me on… without any weapons but their fists. I hear Temple's voice, but it's blurred out by my… no… this feral being's interest in the scarlet liquid soaking my hand.

One man surrounding amongst the others grabs me from behind, lifting me off the ground- waiting for me to struggle. I don't… or at least not until I realize there was someone at the store…

_Buy a weapon! Do it! Please… I take it back, just kill me!_

**Wow, you give up quite easily, don't you? **

I bring my left to the man's side, scratching to be let go before slowing them down with stasis once more. Before I could do anything, my body had already jumped the other person from behind and bringing my hand up to his forehead; allowing my fingers to penetrate his skull as well.

"No! The tram's gone!" One of the women shout, her voice being filled with despair. The group come back into the lounge. It was hard to keep track of what was even happening and going on… My body was moving so fast and… the lives… the lives that I keep taking. _Stop! I don't want to see this! Let alone take part in this! _My hands finish off another man's life and got ready to pounce onto the second half of the party.

**If you don't like it, then just lo-** I feel someone grab my right hand- pulling me back, and getting a punch to the face the next moment. I blink fast, my face stinging like hell again; my eyes too blurry to see who had punched me... my adrenaline from everything picking up... Once I regain my vision, I see Jacob Temple prepare to give me another punch to the face. "My reflexives are…" My left hand catches his balled up fist, my claw-like fingers were almost long enough to encase his hands in death and crimson. "Faster than you think…" I chuckle cynically at him; a feral smile spreading across my face at his surprised expression. I don't blame him though… my voice sounded so out of place… so corrupted, different from the passive and quiet tone my voice used to have…

I could feel the eyes of the group behind me drilling into my being. **They want a show? I'll give them one! **I begin to bend his hand back and watch him wince in pain, struggling to get his hand out of my grasp. "I'll tell you what though…" I whisper in a sweet, loving voice to him. Temple looks up, to stare at me directly- unlike what everyone else has done since they saw what my eyes looked like. "That was a good shot before… So…" I glance up at the ceiling for a few moments, like this was all a game… After the long pause, I knee his stomach- the breath being knocked out of his lungs. As he began falling to the floor, I knee'd him one last time before letting go of his hand. I smirk at his broken body before continuing; "_I'll_ let you live… but… who's to say someone else will?"

"Jacob!" A female voice cries out, rushing past me and to his side when I turn back to the remainder. Giving her a look of disgust and disdain before shooting my last dose of stasis at them before jumping at them as well… Like the previous victims, I jump on these poor souls as well… before they could do anything… before they could even realize what's happening… _Those two better be running…_ _I don't think I'll be kind to your friend, Jacob…_ "Jacob…" She repeats, sounding like she was on the brink of tears. "Are you okay? Can you get up?"

I bring up my left hand and get to work on these last few people, my fingers penetrating a skull.

"Elizabeth…" Temple begins, my fingers swiftly moving out, and then heading into another. "We need to find Dr. Mercer…"

My fingers come back out, then go and end another life.

"He must have the _Nav_ Cards…"

And another life…

"There's nothing we can do…"

And another…

"Go!" I turn towards the two and watch them get to the elevator platform, finally getting out of my reach… **They can't escape their fate… No one can…** The stasis wears off on all the corpses... all of them falling with a loud noticeable "plop!"…

I stand back, shifting my weight onto my right leg- smirking at the bloody work I've done… "All righty…" I begin, with a nice, content sigh. "Let's have some fun, shall we?" I lace my fingers and crack 'em before using my kinesis module to move the corpses. _I've already killed them… How come I still don't have control?_

* * *

Time passed slowly... my worries over the Lurker... my baby... and being stuck watching this… disgusting intruder, still possess control over my body... Starting with fixing the one table in the corner and putting up the Unitology statue before moving onto what I… my body, did for most of the time… Scratching Unitology writing onto the walls, the floors, the pillars- pretty much anything and everything… Using the blood of the nearby corpses to use as ink… when their heads no longer yielded blood for writing, the heads would be wrapped up in some gauze and tossed aside. This… body stealer, had written so many things it was hard to remember what they were and where amongst all the Unitology scribbles and drawings of the Markers. The few things I do remember scrawling down were things that were common for Unitologists to preach about… such as "Altman be praised" and "Black Marker"… The one phrase that was written rarely... that had greatly upset me was; "Show me the path to enlightenment as you alter my flesh and free my soul"... Then why aren't I free yet?

Once this being was content with their fill of defacing the room... with bloody Unitology writing, they had gathered up the empty candle jars on one of the tables- grabbing a lighter amongst the rubbish on the floor and began placing them around the room. Creating a lit path from the staircase to the bloody graffiti…

_Why are you still here? Where's the Lurker? Please... I want to see him..._

**Hm, I go through the hard work of appeasing your kind, and no thank you for my art work? How rude...**

Your art work? _You're sick..._

**Why, thank you, host. Why you and your kind have such strange slang, I'll never know...**

The intruder took a few more moments to admire their "art" before turning around to look around the room. At first, I believed they were looking for more candles... But after rounding the pillar, I started to get a little... thankful. (Yes, despite how hard it is to feel that way when someone steals your body...) This parasite quickly scooped up the Lurker that was laying on the ground. All three of his tentacles were sprawled about, his mutated skin being freckled by Pulse Rounds.

_Damn it... I wasn't fast enough... _

The body stealer had my back to the pillar, sliding down to the ground. Becoming noticeably weaker as time passed... Their control finally slipping... Despite that, they continue to hold the Lurker close... My... our, vision begins to fade out.The ship had started to shake violently. Something that had alarmed me greatly, thinking that it was the Ishimura finally dropping the planet cork… but it didn't… not yet anyway… Time hadn't passed that quickly... If the Ishimura didn't drop the cork... Then what happened? Did Isaac and his crew drive the Planet Cracker into a ship?

Instead of thinking of how pissed I should be at Mercer... At Temple... Or more importantly; this parasite... I can only my concern from before... _"My baby"... Why did I say that? He's not even mine... _

I hear the Lurker coo in my arms, cuddling up to me... Before I finally pass out.


	6. Chapter 6: Paperthin Boundaries

Oh my lord. I am so sorry for such a long break in between these chapters... D: I've had to travel between Canada and New Jersey several times and it really chewed up my spare time on this chapter. Even then, I must apologize for having this sort of chapter out after such a long wait... Still, I really hope you guys enjoy this chapter. And, this chapter marks the half way point of the story. :3

I want to thank everyone that has read, favorited, watched, and reviewed my story. Reading the reviews helped me pull through the past month... and, like I've said before, this story wouldn't have gotten past Chapter 2 without you guys.

**Disclaimer:** I'm not cool enough to own Dead Space... XD; Most characters and some dialogue belong to Visceral Games. Vivien, her Necromorph counter-part, and her father are mine. Same for most of the dialogue and story.

_Italics: _Vi's thoughts

**Bold:** Necromorph thoughts? (It gets a name this chapter, so...)

* * *

_Dad... You promised..._

"Okay, come on Fay. You can do this. Shouldn't be too hard, right? I mean... There's tons of people on these ships, what are the chances of them finding you?" I mutter to myself, twirling one of my scarlet red curls around my finger nervously. _Why am I always getting myself into these situations?_ I huff a sigh before peering back over at the large Planet Cracker.

I have a good view amongst the boxes of loading cargo. Of all the late night preparations for a trip, from the looks of it; a far trip, where ever it was going didn't matter to me. After observing the people going in and out of the ship, it became apparent that an ID card was needed. I smirk at this piece of information before summing up enough courage to enter the ship (no one being insight, of course).

I hurry up to the ID scanner, quickly running one of my father's ID cards through. My face beaming when the card was accepted. "Piece of cake," I smile triumphantly before rushing into the long corridor. _And mom said that thieves get no where in life. Bah, I just got through security, who's awesome?_ Surprisingly, the lights within the tunnels were quite dim. There weren't many people in the hall; regardless, I still went out of my way to stay hidden. The dark color of my Civilian RIG helping me out a great deal to keep hidden amongst the cargo boxes. Even if one or two people caught a glimpse of me, they would only peer over at me suspiciously before attending to their own business; not even caring in the slightest... Until one man had grabbed my right arm from behind.

I turn around and look up at the man; both startled and nervous. The man didn't let go, probably not trusting me to stay in one spot; wise choice. I couldn't make out the man very well... the only source of light in the area was coming from behind him, not helping out with his shadowed face. "What are you doing here?" He whispered harshly, his voice sounding stern, gruff, frustrated; like he didn't want to deal with a kid like me.

_Hmph, if he says I'm too young to be here then I'm so kicking him. I'll be an "adult" in three years... I'm not a kid... _I huff a sigh, fighting back any rude comments that I could shoot out and try to go for the innocent sounding voice. "Please don't kick me out... I'm just trying to find my dad... Please help me find him... You seem like a nice mister, please don't turn me in..." I plead, my voice having the "terrified little girl" touch to it for some sympathy.

The man's quiet for a few moments, obviously trying to decide on what to do before finally responding, his voice becoming a little softer, but still over all rough. "Hm... What's your father's name? What area of the ship does he work in?" He asked, still holding onto my arm to make sure I wouldn't run.

Without skipping a beat, I answer him; hoping that maybe the two were buddies in some way. "My dad works in Mining, he's also a Plasma Cutter specialist. His name's Ace Zelaya, maybe you know him?" I couldn't help but sound so hopeful with this response, especially since my attempt could end here, right now.

"Zelaya's kid..." He mumbled, quickly letting go of my arm. Instead of bolting for it, I stay for him to finish; having some sort of respect for Dad's friends. "You're lucky that I'm only here to see someone off... I know him, worked with him a lot whenever he needed an engineer. Showed me how to use the Plasma Cutter too..." The man states, probably looking back on several instances... or probably trying to think of any times Dad's even said that he had a daughter. "Nice guy... sad that he's a Unitologist..." The man mused, he shrugs his shoulders once before walking away; stopping abruptly before turning back to face me. "When you get to the lounge, approach the red haired woman, she's a softie for sugarcoating girls..."

I stand still for a moment and consider this, thinking about how the man saw through my acting. "Wait... What's your name mister...?" I blurt, not meaning to ask the question, but let's be honest; I'm curious and I would like to know who's helping me out.

He turns back to me again, remaining silent for a few moments before finally responding. "My last name's Clarke... Isaac Clarke," Isaac responded, a smile in his voice. The name seemed... familiar to me, for some reason. "But, please... For the love of all that is good, just call me Isaac... Mr. Clarke makes me feel old." He chuckled slightly from what he said before walking off towards the light again.

After what Isaac said, I couldn't help but smile at the engineer. "Thank you." I say, hopefully loud enough for him to hear. "I hope I can repay you the favor one day." I watch Isaac for a few moments, when I finished. He had brought his hand up, seeming to wave away the promise I had made; as if I couldn't help him out with anything. I roll my eyes and shrug, feeling quite the opposite before running off. Trying my best to stay hidden like before, checking behind me every few; still being freaked out from when Isaac had grabbed my arm...

The pattern had continued until I finally manage to the elevator platform in the Flight Hangar. My happy, cheery, sneaky mood finally dwindling down when I see the two security guards stationed in front of the lounge; one woman and one man. The woman had close to the same shade of red hair as I do, only it was a short, boy cut; her skin, tanned; matching the same color as her Security Officer RIG, the marks of her ranking on her sleeves. Whilst the man beside her had a much darker shade of skin, a small goatee forming, and... wearing a different style of a Security Officer RIG. Their gazes stayed fixed on me, probably from how out of place I was.

I gulped, nervous of how I could get around this problem. _Come on, Fay. You didn't sneak out of your room just to get stuck here. You've got to remind him... _I hold onto the small figurine of the relic us Unitologists preached, the Marker; praying to God that I can do this. _Please, Altman; help me find Dad... _I take in one deep breath before walking up to the red-headed guard, hoping to easily stroll by them.

"Okay, where do you think you're going?" The red haired woman asked, raising a questioning eyebrow at me. From how close I was, I could finally get a glimpse at her name tag; A. Vincent.

I look directly at her, trying to think of something to say. Deciding on speaking the truth. _And, if that doesn't work, _**_run_**_. _"I'm here to look for my dad, would you know where I can find Ace Zelaya? Miner?" I look between the two officers; preferring not to resort to begging.

The two exchange a few glances before Vincent piped up. "Look, we're getting ready to ship out at any time, we... there's no way we could find Zelaya in such a short amount of time." She replies, crossing her arms. "Here, why not just leave a message for him at the SAVE station (Sending A Virtual Exchange, hooray for acronyms! Gotta love 'em...) in the lounge. If there was something important that you needed to give him, then leave it with us and we'll take care of it."

I narrow my eyes at her, the response being something that I obviously didn't want to hear nor care for. I nod at her, however. Quickly stepping into the lounge and over to the station at the opposite side of the room. Some people keep referring to it as a Save Station for whatever reason, I like to think of it as a mailbox... Why change such a simple name anyway? The station registers me and brings up my cluttered mailing account. I take my time sending the message, stealing a few glances of the group of people in the room. Logging out of my account, I look over at where the security officers were; busying themselves with other passengers, putting too much trust in me. Making a quick decision, I found myself disappearing into the group of people heading into the corridor for the tram station.

The door slides to a close, my heart racing with each step. _Am I really doing this?_ As if to push me on with my decision, Vincent's muffled voice could be heard beyond the doors; noticing that I was gone. Pushing my way through the crowd, I finally get into the stuffed tram station. I scan the room for my dad, only to no avail... Until the tram finally rolled into the station. Recognizing his face from anywhere. Once it rolls to a stop, people file out of the tram and into the room. Making it that much harder to...

I freeze up, hearing an odd, feral growl so close to me. I whip my head around, trying to find anything that could remotely sound like that, but don't... Yet, I feel disappointed for not finding the source. _You're just tired Fay, keep going..._ Before I continue pushing my way through the crowd, I look behind me in time to see the security guards opening the door. _Crap, crap, crap, crap, _**_crap_**_! _Seeing the two officers gave me the incentive I needed to push through the rest of the crowd, just barely managing to get onto the stuffed tram. The only spot I could possibly stand at was at the entrance to the tram, the doors closing before the security officers could snake through the crowd to me. I mouth out the word "sorry" to them before shrugging; the tram rolling away shortly after.

_Sorry Miss Vincent, but I'm on a mission and you're getting in the way... _I peer over at my dad's direction, instead of feeling victorious like I wanted; I'm heart broken._ Dad, I'm right here... yet you don't notice me... _"Next stop, Commons," The female voice from the speakers chimed in. I shake my head once, an overwhelming rush of depression washing over me. The very thought of going to this place saddened me... I don't even know why...

As we docked onto the station, I slowly felt... weaker... My vision starting to dim, too... I shake my head defiantly, my bouncy curls dancing around my face. _Come on Fay... You're just tired, you got so far and for what? To want to take a nap? No! We need to get off the ship with Dad before it takes off... _

**_Bing!_**

The tram had arrived at the commons, the people aboard began heading off; the crowd easily pushing me out. I wait for my dad to go off, I see him slowly come out, too. I raise my hand to wave to him, but stop when I hear a louder, defiant growl this time; my blood running cold, only this time I could make out what it said... "No..." I glance around at the crew on the deck, none of them seemed alarmed... None of them seeming like they were terrified, like I was... My vision continuing to fade out, my movements and thoughts becoming sluggish as the seconds passed.

I glance around the room several more times for the source of the growling, still trying my best to stay alert... before noticing that Dad was walking down the steps to the Commons lounge. "Dammit..." I growled, before running down the stairs to follow after him, struggling down the steps with my two left feet. Unfortunately, Dad's on line for the elevator platform for the balcony... _I'll never make it..._ I continue my struggle over to the platform, only for my legs to give out at a pillar; falling face first onto the ground. My arms shaking as I attempt to pull myself back up, only to fail.

I could hear a ton of whispering amongst those in the room, I can't make out anything that they say... I continue to struggle to get up, picking my head to look up at where the elevator platform was... Or, might have been... it was getting too dark to see anything now... Save for a few silhouettes of people standing right in front of my face. I lay my face back down on the floor, seeing no point in any of this anymore.

"We found her Alissa, she made it all the way to Commons." A woman stated, I felt something, or someone, nudge my shoulder blade before carrying my limp body towards them and turning me over. A hand taking hold of my wrist to check my vitals. After a long minute, the hand withdraws. "I don't think she's responding well, we need to get her to Medical. Why in the world is she doing on the ship? This isn't a place for kids, how did she get past you standing at the Flight Lounge?"

Before I could eavesdrop on the other end of their transmission, I could hear another enraged growl... followed by some shouting. _I recognize that voice..._ "Move, get out of the way!" I hear an agitated, stern voice shout. It becomes quiet for a few moments until I feel my left hand being held onto. "Oh, Fay..." The voice sighed, sounding very tender and caring at first... Before a hand disappeared from my left hand, only to have a slap across the face. I whimper from the hit, more tears streaming down my face... being all too familiar with the abuse he always dished out. "What the hell are you doing here?" I could hear him choking up a little; the only reason why I ignore all this pain, because it seems like he actually cares. "You're supposed to be home... Not here..." I try to open my mouth to speak, but don't... I could tell in his voice that he _knew_ why I came here...

_You promised... You promised you wouldn't leave me and Mom anymore... You _**_broke_**_ that promise..._

_...But this is when I realize that this is all just a distant memory. When things were a little bit easier... Although, I can help but wonder... Why did I even bother following him?_

* * *

_No... Why did this have to happen? Damn it, I could've had a normal life... With Mom, back at the North American Sector... _

I could feel something... No, someone... nudging my left shoulder. I wanted to keep my eyes closed, I wanted to just lay there and die. I didn't want to deal with this anymore and I was afraid of seeing the horrors that I've committed... With my bear hands too! Am I really even worth saving? Can my actions even be justified?

**They attacked you and your baby... Of course it was justified. We're innocent, we have done nothing wrong. **

_No... Just leave me a lone, this is my body, my mind, my _**_life_**_. Get out._

**I'm the key to your survival, without me, you would've died long ago... Without you the engineer would have been stuck back at Mining... It would've been the end of his game.**

My lips quiver, at this entity's response. I hated it for taking control, for being a part of me... but I hate it even more because... it was right. I felt the nudging motion again, coupled with a soft, low growl.

**He wants you to wake up... Closing your eyes isn't going to help. It's not going to make everything go away.**

I still refuse to obey the voice in my head... It remained silent for a little while, too. Until his next shoulder tap toppled me over to the side. My eyes fluttered open and I quickly looked over at the Hunter. "Oh, come on..." I mumble, bringing my right hand up to rub my right eye. I huffed a sigh, really not wanting to get up in the first place... but. that was before looking at the corpses I had slept with.

"Holy mother of Altman!" I cried, quickly jumping up and dashing to the sitting booths; the Lurker still in my arms. _I think I just broke Mach 1..._ I could feel my heart racing, the beats becoming a little more erratic as I looked around the room; staring at each body. "Why? Why? Why? Why...?" I mumble out, the whole scene replaying in my mind. I go to cover my face with one of my hands only to freeze up. Staring furiously at my left hand, my Godforsaken claw of a hand. My glove was tattered around it, and the hand was absolutely soaked in blood (but, that's not to say I wasn't drenched in blood overall...). Tears are streaming down my face, the pressure truly getting to me. Then I remembered...

I look down at the Lurker, the whole reason why I broke into this madness, if he were at least okay... _But that doesn't change anything... What I did was wrong... So, so wrong... _I couldn't help but look over at the Hunter helplessly... and, I couldn't help but envy him either. He was asleep during his transformation... Quick... Painless...

After sitting a while in silence, I bring my gaze down to the wounded Lurker in my arms. It was very painful to look at him... The man holding onto the Pulse Rifle had gotten him good, unfortunately... There were rounds spotting the body, perhaps a dozen or more lined the poor baby's skin. "Asshole... I'm glad he died." I hissed, studying the Lurker; my fingers lightly tracing over his wounds... Doing my best to not look into his big white eyes...

It pained me to look at him, the Lurker would try to move but only cry out in pain... I wiped away some of new tears with my right hand, about to say something when I heard the elevator platform head back down; along with... clapping... Reluctantly, I look up from the Lurker and over at who was operating the platform; my anger beginning to pick up at the sight of Dr. Mercer. "_You..._ Have fun using me as a scapegoat?" I ask, my heavy sarcasm being quite bitter.

Dr. Mercer stops clapping, his face breaking down to look sincere and somewhat hurt by my comment. "Oh... My dearest, vivacious Vivien... You should know my tendencies by now, there's always a method to my madness, you of all people should know _that_ by now." Dr. Mercer replies, his tone of voice being calm and collected; like always. Even though I shouldn't have, I couldn't help but sneer at his "madness" remark. I watch as he walks off the platform, leisurely strolling over to the three of us. A frown spread across his face, however, once he got a good look at the Lurker. "It's unfortunate that the catalyst to your behavior had to be the infant..." Dr. Mercer trailed off, seeming disappointed in this fact.

_And I could've prevented it... If I'd just left him in the Executive bedrooms... _I keep my eyes on him, genuinely longing to slap Mercer across the face... (Of course, who wouldn't want to do that?) He _wanted_ those people dead and he _wanted_ me to flip out the way I did...

I found myself putting the Lurker down, getting up soon after. Perhaps to actually give into that anger, again... Only for the Hunter to be holding me back in both arms; acting as Mercer's damned bodyguard this time... Strangely, I enjoyed this embrace; not because the Hunter was holding onto me, but... I was being restrained. I felt better knowing that I couldn't hurt anyone in his arms... Even _if _Mercer deserved it...

**Funny. You seem to hate the doctor's guts... yet, this is the only human that I wish to not see slain... Or... not yet, at least... **

I hear the Hunter growl softly once, before hearing Zillia got a little smug. **He's glad that you're not struggling... He's thanking you.**

_You understand what he says?_

**Why not?** **Should I not know my own tongue?**

"Let me see your hand..." Dr. Mercer states, gesturing to my left hand. I huff at him, clearly still hating Mercer about the survivors... Reluctantly, I hold my hand out to him... The Hunter growling again as Mercer grabbed my hand. I ignore him, watching as Mercer studies my hand. Moving... no, toying around with my fingers; to see how they move compared to a regular hand... Brushing off the dried blood that stained my fingers... it was quiet for a while. The Hunter never released me, afraid for the doctor to be mauled, I suppose... I didn't want to fight his grip, I wanted to be bound forever so that it-_  
_

**I'm a she... Stop calling me an it. I'm you... or, I will be... In the mean time... the name's Zillia, get used to me. Hm... Also, I find this cute... mister Hunter here seems to be jealous~ He must've really liked you in life... How ironic that a lion like him fell in love with a... kitten. Lambs are lame, don't you agree?**

I roll my eyes at her interruption and... odd, I'm not used to having someone read my thoughts like an open book. Before I could continue fighting with myself; Mercer had taken several steps towards me, releasing my left hand to remove my bangs... studying my left eye. He seemed... different, with this eye... I could easily see jagged lines, many of them branching off; glowing from under neath his skin. _Is that..._

**This is how we find humans so easily in the dark; us... Necromorphs, can see the heat given off from your... circulatory system, right? Vi, you're looking through the eyes of a Necromorph... Er, eye. I suppose it doesn't matter much, however... The bright lights given off by your silly outfits make it easy as it is.**

"My vibrant Vivien..." He began, brushing his fingertips over the jagged lines of the infection. "It displeases me greatly knowing you distrust me. I am not the villain here, my dear..." Mercer pauses a moment, pursing his lips in deep thought. I can't help but wonder what he was thinking... what was going on in his head. Especially to make all these dead people seem okay, to make Mercer feel like he wasn't at fault in the least. "You have no idea what kind of gift I've provided you with... the sacrifices I've handed over. Even though you despise me, I still don't regret the road I've taken; the infection is helping you live... and survive a horrible demise. Yet, you still detest me. There are so many things you don't know, Vivien... And, this fact pains me..." Mercer withdraws himself from us in deep thought, looking up at the balcony he had just arrived from.

**Don't hate Doctor Mercer, he's trying to help you... He admires you, greatly... You're his radiant ruby amongst this trash. Maybe... even the Red Marker in his life... **Zillia was quite smug, no doubt...snorting at the end, growing quiet as she thought about what to expand upon.** He treats you better than your father ever did.**

I wanted to respond once more... but, as if Mercer didn't want to interrupt Zillia, begins to speak again. "I think... I think it's time for all of us to evacuate the Ishimura," Mercer begins. It took a while for me to really _get_ what he was talking about... Could we really be leaving this hellacious nightmare? "After all, the Engineer is probably making his way back from the USM Valor... He most likely has his hands on a Singularity Core by now." Mercer turned to face the two of us again, looking expectantly at me. "Do you have the Nav Cards I told you to get, Vivien?"

"Uhm..." I mumble, bringing up the hologram of my inventory. "Crap..." I hissed, seeing that the Nav Cards were absent, everything else was gone... save for a Small Med Pack and the capsule back at the Chemistry room. "No, I don't have them... They're gone..." _Maybe leaving this place won't be as fast as I thought... _

Mercer heaves a disappointed sigh at the news, thinking to himself for a moment before speaking once more. "No matter, the Engineer will just have to pick up the remaining pieces for us, then." Mercer pauses for a moment before walking over to the elevator platform. "Vivien, wait for us at the Hangar Bay; be ready to leave. Do what you can to get the Marker from Cargo... As for you, Regenerator, I want you to stalk your prey and wait for the moment that the Engineer has all three cards in his possession."

I stayed quiet, my mind dwelling on so many things at once. Will Isaac die, just like the others? Am I really going to be leaving with _Mercer_? (Hell, I'm honestly mesmerized by how in control he is... That he has so many things figured out... Despite not being sane in the head.) What about Zillia, will she... win? ...And, the Lurker...

My eyes watch as Mercer ascends to the balcony above and the Hunter finally releases me from his grasp. "Mercer..." I began, looking away from him and down at the rubbish littering the floor, away from the slain victims sprawled across the room.

"Yes, Vivien, what is it?"

**Say it... You know he deserves it. **

I bite my bottom lip, before my request finally escapes. "Make Jacob Temple suffer."

**Tell me... _Sister_ Vi... Are you sane enough for two?**


	7. Chapter 7: Undesired Message

Oh god, I don't know where to begin... Pretty much, everything that could go wrong, did. A family member had passed away, so it became very hard to keep up with everything. Let alone school work and art projects. Regardless, I still hope everyone enjoys this chapter. And, I really hope that Chapter 8 does not take as long as this did.

As always, I want to thank my readers so much for reading, favoriting, watching, and reviewed my story. More so for being patient with my lack of updates.

**Disclaimer:** I'm still not awesome enough to own Dead Space. XD Most characters and some dialogue are owned by Visceral Games. Vivien, Zillia, and everything else are mine.

_Italics: _Vi's thoughts

**Bold:** Zillia's thoughts

* * *

"Nicole, are you sure this is okay?" I question, raising an eyebrow at the medical officer.

We're the only two standing in one of the many hallways of the Medical Deck. Unlike the other halls; this one was empty. It was cold. It was dark. It was just unpleasant in general- who would want to be here?

That was exactly the point. These halls contained the wards. The insane. Hell, we were even near the morgue for crying out loud. (Well, under it, but... that's beside the point.)

"Yes, of course it is. We wouldn't be down here if I didn't think you were capable, Vi." Nicole responded, giving me a soft smile. "Why? Are you afraid of a patient? Or, is it just because it's Harris?" She fired back, her smile turning into a suspicious sneer.

I roll my eyes at her, still smiling back at Nicole. "No, of course not... _We _took care of him, together." I took a breath, running my hand through my hair. Normally, I'd be just fine and take the task head on, but... Brant Harris isn't like any regular patient. "I dunno, there's just something about him, something I can't put my finger on." I lied, giving her a shrug.

It was quiet for a moment between us. Even with the words left unspoken, I knew the answer. I was going to end up with the task; whether it bothered me or not. "Well, look at it this way... Harris hasn't had any episodes around you; meanwhile, he gives everyone else a hard time. Besides, I won't be that far, and neither will the other doctors and P-Sec officers."

_Yeah, but... I'm not afraid of Harris, exactly. I'm afraid of myself... I _**_like_**_ him, despite my morals. What would Kyne think if he found out?_

I glance at the door before nodding. "I'll do it, but... I'm telling you that all those times were just flukes." I told her, doing my best to hold my feelings. After all, how can I become a nurse if I were afraid of a patient?

Nicole gave another soft smile before opening the door, looking for the doctor in charge of Harris' mental stability. "Doctor Warwick?" She called, lingering in the doorway while I walked in.

The room wasn't that big, only large enough for the patient and a handful of doctors. There were no windows, nothing to stargaze through, for the fear of the patient getting out of control. (Last thing we need are more accidents, right?) There wasn't anything spectacular about the room: very few cabinets for the patient's meds. The only real things to take note of the room were the two people at center stage. Doctor Warwick: chief psychiatrist of the Ishimura- an old, stout, balding man who can't seem to stop his diagnostics. The only amusing thing I've ever seen about him are his conversations with Mercer; the two brainiacs can never seem to stop. Then, of course, the star of the room: Brant Harris. Unfortunately, that star role involves being strapped to a padded stretcher. Unlike Dr. Warwick, Brant was... a young, (and, when I mean young, I mean; he's still more than a decade older than me) well-built miner, to say the least. Honestly, it was hard to keep my focus on Dr. Warwick; I wanted to look at him.

"Ah, Dr. Brennan, it's nice to see you today," Dr. Warwick began warmly, before bringing his gaze to me. "You too, Ms. Ding," Putting an emphasis on Ms... or, at least, to me. _Honestly, I hate that... just the title... He's one of the few doctors on the team that refuses to just give me the one little word. _"Dr. Brennan, if you're really sure that your pupil is ready for this task, then I shall be handing the reins over. I have several more... observations to fill out about Mr. Harris, here..." Dr Warwick stated gruffly, wiping his brows before waddling into the hallway, stopping there to probably complain about me.

"You'll do fine, Vi. It's not your first time. Just sit tight, the shift won't last long." Nicole promises, before disappearing behind the closing door. I roll my eyes at the statement; the little part of me, hoping that she was right.

It wasn't until the patient sighed out of sarcastic boredom that I realized I was hesitating to just look at him. I took a deep breath, attempting to clear my mind of all these silly fears and just focus on my job. "Yes, Mr. Harris? Are you tired?" I ask, attempting to sound as polite as I could while I turned to him.

And, I instantly felt my heart sank when I saw his green eyes.

They were bloodshot and tired. This patient's been through so much, from what I've heard. He can't even sleep without being wrought with nightmares. During the day? Tormented by whispers and violence. (Gee, thanks Nicole... ) The guy was broken, plain and simple. Yet, instead of being tired and overly anxious for his meds or his sedative, his eyes just reflected a curious look, a hint of happiness... complimented with the amused smirk on his face.

"What happened to the ol' doctor? Does the doc need a break from getting into my head?" Brant asked, amusing himself. Even then, that wasn't the real question he wanted to ask.

"Dr. Brennan wanted me to be the substitute for Dr. Warwick today, she wanted to see if I could handle the job. I'd greatly appreciate it if you didn't give me any crap today." I respond, having my fingers toy around with his prepared meds, just to make an excuse to not look at him directly.

In a flash, I could tell that Brant's expression had gone softer on me. "'Ey, now... Do you really think I'd hurt you, Vi?" He paused for a moment, boring holes into me as I fiddled around with everything. I couldn't help but feel slow, just being around him was very... intoxicating, pleasant. "Ah... don't feel like talkin' to ol' Brant today?"

I snort at his last comment; playing with the controls of his restraints on his arms, the stretcher refolding itself to form a chair. "No, I don't think you would. I know you wouldn't. Dr. Warwick's just bothersome, if anything." I comment, handing him a cup full of pills and a second cup of water.

I eye him as he takes his medicine, making sure he doesn't try to hide any of them under his tongue or what have you. After a few moments, he hands the cups back to me and I begin to put everything away. "I'll take it you'd disapprove of any action towards him?" He asked, chuckling at the end.

I shake my head at him, reorganizing the cabinets a little before forcing myself to stop. "Of course, it's no big deal. Don't see why you're so defensive."

Before I could get Brant's arms restrained again, he'd reached his hand out and grabbed my wrist. Harsh and firm at first, thinking that I would pull away from his grasp. I don't- I feel frozen in place. My heart rate picking up, more so when I saw the look on his face. Like I'd hurt him with that comment. "You're worth being defensive over, you know that," He began, boring more holes into my existence with his a flamed eyes. After a moment or two into the silence, he began to loosen his grip on my hand, his expression growing soft. "You're the only person that ever treated me like a human on this rust bucket."

A smile escaped my lips, breaking my attempt of being just a doctor doing my normal job. I suppose it was no use to start with. After all, he knew how I felt about him, and I know how he felt about me. Two love birds separated by an age barrier. He's 33 and I'm just 18... "Brant... I'm sure Mercer's told you that this 'rust bucket' is my home, right?" I told him, dancing around the subject a little.

During the whole time I was talking, Brant was reeling me in, tugging my hand closer to him until I had to stand right next to the chair without any space. _He wants me to sit on his lap with him... _I rolled my eyes at the thought as he continued to tug on my arm like a little child. _Can't blame him, not like he could get up and out of his restraints to show affection. He's bound due to his actions and stability... (Doesn't help that security monitors when he leaves the chair, yet they don't check the videos...?)_ _What is that like, I wonder... Does everyone really treat him that badly? Or, does everyone just fear him?_

I cave in to his demand, crawling on to his lap and into his strong arms, resting my head on his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around me, his cheek resting a little above my ear. That comment about me being intoxicated? Well, I'm up and beyond that now... And that racing heart? Makes it seem like the previous momentum was just a walk in the park.

"Ah, yes. Dr. Mercer _did_ tell me that," Brant began. "How's he doin' today, eh? 'Think I have 'im after the sedative nap. Good mood, I hope?" He continued, chuckling gruffly at the end.

"He's as creep-tastic as ever," I swiftly respond, giggling at the end. "Okay, no, but, really... Mercer's quite grand today; no one's really upset him today. Seemed happy when I told him I was going to be with you today. Said that he looks forward to working with you, too. More interrogation for Mr. Harris?"

Brant heaved a sigh, pausing for a few moments before talking. "I suppose so. Everyone seems to ask the same question over and over again; "What happened with the you and Dr. Sciarellio?", "What caused you to snap?", "What was going on in the colony?", nyeh, nyeh, nyeh, nag this, nag that. I'm just a miner, not my job to know everything." His voice rose at the end, causing him to pause and take a deep breath to calm down. "They probably won't stop probing my head until I feel some sort of remorse for the nurse."

I bite my bottom lip from his response. Can't say I wasn't curious about that answer either. When the silence goes on, Brant continues. "Vi, I didn't mean it like that... with the nurse... it's just hard. I can't find it in myself to feel bad, I'm glad it happened. If I didn't do it, I would've never met you." He adds, kissing the top of my head once. "Hm, I've got to say, I am curious about why you still like a monster like me; with what I've done. Even with my stability... Might I ask why?"

"Because you treated me like a person, too. Not like a marker-head, a lab rat, a vulnerable girl... You never exploited my kindness- never flipped out with me around." I cooed, smiling affectionately. "Of course, doesn't help me out much that I thought you were cute and strong to begin with." I add on, grinning guiltily.

Brant chuckled into my hair, his arms flexing at the mention of the word 'strong'. _You're such a show off... _It was quiet again for a little while, just us two being together. It wouldn't last forever, so it was nice to be like this while it lasted.

After a few moments, Brant had broken the silence again. "Vi, are you going to put this in your journal before you head off to bed tonight?" He asked, his curiosity apparent.

"Probably not… Dr. Kyne gets to read it, but I don't want him to find out… I don't want your stay here to be any worse." I whisper, not wanting to feel ashamed about us two at all. It's just… No one would want someone they knew to be with a murderer, Who knows what would happen to Brant…"I just want it to be between us two for a little while, until I can figure it out…"

"Only us two." He crooned.

_Not much else happened between us after that, I just gave him his sedative shortly after. Holding his hand until he finally fell asleep…_

_The next time I saw him, he was risking his life to get to me in Medical. I haven't seen him since he went under stasis in the lab…_

* * *

Zillia...?

Vivi? What can I do for you on this lovely hour?

...What do you want from me?

Well, now, isn't it obvious? I want your body; I want to feel that warm liquid flow through my hand again... to feel that thrill of the kill... I want to move freely again like before, I want... I want to be whole, like the others. All in all, it's nothing that I want from you specifically. It's something that I want for myself; you're just the unlucky collateral damage in this battle. Sorry, that was a little harsh, wasn't it? Oh, how about my own, personal notebook? ...Why do you ask, Vivi dearest?

...I just want to know what else I should expect from you, if I can make it out.

You should know from seeing my kind; you can't win. This was all your choice from the get-go. You chose to be Mercer's little play thing. In the end, you took the doctor's injections without question. And, now... You're mine.

Not yet... I made the mistake with Mercer, but I won't with you.

Oh, silly Vivi... You seem to forget something important... You can't cure death. If you die, you're mine for good. Besides, without me, you wouldn't have seen your friend again... or fallen in love with the child... Or, more importantly, you wouldn't have survived for as long as you have...

The Hunter is Brant, isn't he?

I was beginning to wonder how long it was going to take to figure that out. Yes, that's why he spared you. His previous love for you had protected you. Otherwise, you would've ended up exactly like that other Necromorph down in… Mining, right? The same applies to the child. He may not be your child per se, but he never really learned what his real mother was like… Sad, isn't it? Oh, but don't you worry, Vivi… I'll take good care of them for you.

* * *

It's been quiet for a while, I can't tell if it's a good or a bad. I haven't heard from Mercer at all either... Is Isaac really giving Mercer a run for his money? But, if he is, then how is the Hunter doing? Could he really lose? And, Jacob Temple... could Mercer _really_ be capable of taking a man of his caliber on? Or is my death wish going to come true? _Better yet, why did I ask for such a request?_

I snap out of my questioning trance when the Lurker shifts on my lap, one quick glance and I remember why I did make that request. _How could I forget? He attacked my baby. My baby..._

I sigh before tracing the dotted wounds on the Lurker, hearing his soothing purrs fill up the silence. I couldn't help but find myself smiling a little at the purring. He was doing better than before... and, it was all I needed to pick my spirits back up a little more.

My fingertips keep running up and down the constellations on his skin before I finally notice something wrapped around on his right wrist. _So, Lurker's really not a prosthetics baby, then…?_ The band was smeared, bloodied, and just... badly damaged over all. Despite all the abuse, the first name was still legible: Aiden.

I watch the Necromorph lying down on my lap, playing around with my left hand. Going between grasping my fingers with his tiny hands or sucking on them like a pacifier. "Aiden..." I mumble aloud, now rubbing the child's head; trying to focus my mind away from the questions. When I finally spoke, he picked his head up to look up at me; both of his hands still holding onto my fingers. "It's a cute name, it matches, too." I continued quietly; my face caving in to reveal a smile when he gave a soft purr, playing around with my fingers again.

Before I could continue with my self-interrogation, my RIG had begun to project a voice message; only for a burst of static to come from the other end. _Great, what else did Mercer want me to do?_ "Vi?" A familiar voice called, sounding utterly shocked as he said my name. _Okay, so it's not Mercer... Who else could it be? _"Vi, it's Kyne. Are you all right?"

I could feel my stomach drop while Kyne awaited for a response, feeling a tad bittersweet. "Y-yes, I'm here. I'm okay; why haven't you..." I trail off, unable to finish the rest of the question. _Why haven't you called me sooner? Why haven't you looked for me? Why did you kill Matthius? Why did you leave me with Mercer? _I take a deep breath, staring down at Aiden resting on my lap; who was looking up at the hologram curiously, waving his tentacles through the small blue image as he did.

It's quiet on his end; I'm assuming Kyne was waiting for me to finish the question. When I don't, Kyne continues on. "I am so sorry Vi... I shouldn't have believed that list; I should have tried to call you sooner, but, that doesn't matter right now. Look, I can see you're on the tram. Mr. Clarke and I are heading to the Flight Deck once we have obtained the shuttle. We can all leave together and end all of-"

"Wait, hold on," I interrupt him, glancing down at Aiden every few; trying my best to make sure he wouldn't start screeching and freaking out the doctor. "First, what list? The list of deceased? My RIG's just fine; I haven't flat lined. Besides, why should I trust you? I'm sorry, but you killed the Captain, Kyne... How can anyone end this, anyway?"

"I was getting there, my dear," Doctor Kyne began, pausing to take a breath before continuing. "Yes, the list of deceased; I don't understand why you were on that list, really... It may be the signal of your RIG going in and out or some one declaring you dead in the system. Regardless, that doesn't matter now. Look, we can end this with the Marker." He pauses for a moment, his voice slowly rising and becoming more frantic. "We were foolish to remove the Marker. I know my way of going about everything can never be justified, and I never meant to kill Benjamin. He wanted to leave with the Marker, but if we can just get the Marker back on Aegis VII- back on the pedestal- then this nightmare can be contained. We can stop this infection from spreading! Please, Vi. I want to make things right... And, I don't want to lose you... There's really nothing I can say to convince you..." He sighs on the other end, seeming forlorn due to the circumstances.

I'm quiet for a few moments, looking down at the playful Lurker on my lap; getting himself lost in something as simple as fingers... "Fine... What do you want me to do, Kyne?"

**Wait, you're going with him? Come on, Mercer's _so_ much better. **

_Oh, shut it. It's still my body; I get to make the decisions._

"Good, I'm glad that you still trust me, Vi," Kyne began, sounding a lot more positive on the other end. "Before things had gone down at the Captain's Bridge, Matthius had changed the passwords to cargo- ultimately, the Marker. Usually, I'm against you hacking, but..."

I can't help but smile at Kyne; the sort of guilty smile kids give when they're caught stealing a cookie. "Sorry, Kyne; way ahead of you. I've already got codes, maps, and even access to the security cameras." I admitted, feeling a tad devious; before getting serious and down to business. "However, I don't believe I'm the only person that managed to get into the system, one of the door's passwords were changed down in Mining... So, I'll see if I can get into cargo."

Doctor Kyne sighed for a moment before speaking again. "Vi, sometimes I'm worried about how much you really know..." He pauses a moment, resuming the conversation with a happier tone. "Well, I'll meet you in the Flight Lounge soon- Mr. Clarke is almost done here at the Commons as we speak- gonna go meet up with him now. I'll speak with you later."

Before I could say anything else, Kyne had cut the line- leaving me with Aiden and, _my_ thoughts again.

**If you're going with those guys, then are you willing to let go of the child? Of your beloved Necromorphs? Unless, of course, you wanted me to defend you and the child again... **

_You know, I really hate it when you're right..._

I pick the Lurker up, cradling him in my arm as the tram comes to a stop at the station. Like everywhere else, it was very chilling to see the platform abandoned. Before continuing on to fulfill my task, I stop at the store, restocking with new gloves and gather as many packs as I could carry.

* * *

Time passed painfully slow; having to look behind me every so often, freezing up when growls could be heard from the vents. Luckily, I somehow managed to get as far as the slopes up to the Control Room of the deck, having to stop before the door as my holo-link opened up again. I was expecting Doctor Kyne on the other end, asking me how things were doing... if I'd probably run into any more Necromorphs yet... Only for a video message of Mercer.

Mercer; as calm and collected as he normally is, it was impossible for him to hide how distraught he was... like one of those times where his requests were denied aboard the ship... whenever he was at the losing end of an argument.

"Ah, Vivien! I am so pleased to get a hold of you," Mercer begins, having some trouble to make eye contact with me. _Did Isaac...win? _"Oh, Vivien... I have such... disheartening news." Mercer adds, his calm air breaking down enough for Mercer to show a frown. "The Engineer... He actually managed to slay the Regenerator," Mercer trails off, closing his eyes a moment to rub his temples. "Look, let me finish talking to her. Then you can do whatever pleases you." Mercer whispers harshly, as if he had his own Zillia.

"Wait, _what?_" I gasp, trying to keep my voice from getting loud. "Brant's gone? He can't…" My voice cracks, tears decorating my face. _He's really gone? I never go the chance to say 'thank you'…_

**Never get a chance to say 'good-bye'. Regardless, I don't believe Doctor Mercer. A warrior like that can't be gone. He couldn't... but, I guess, this means that you are left with the little one, now?**

I wipe away a few tears before trying to sum up a better response. "How did this happen, Mercer? After all, if he's a regenerating Necromorph, how could he die?"

Mercer slowly gazes back up at me; I could hear a noise in the background: an anxious Necromorph? To my surprise, Mercer never turned back to look at the source of the noise. "The Regenerator was burned by the escape shuttle," Mercer replies, bringing up his RIG menu. "The Hive Mind requests that I should take one last stand here. Of course, I shall submit to God's demand." Another hologram pops up, notifying me that I have new messages. _Why...? What? _Mercer turns his whole attention back to me. "I have sent you several important files. It is significant that you read them, they'll be sure to shed some light on several matters. Things that I wanted to tell you myself," Mercer trails off at the end, whispering incoherently behind him for a few moments before turning back towards me. "The Hive Mind also requests that you watch the transformation of a Necromorph."

At this point, it finally dawns on me what Mercer is preparing to do. He's getting ready to commit suicide.

**You _just_ figured that out? Man, sorry, but you shoulda realized that a while ago...**

Even though I hated him for what he'd done to me, I still can't help but think of Mercer before he sunk into this madness. He would actually answer questions that I'd have, instead of beating around the bush like Doctor Kyne and Captain Matthius. "You don't have to do this..." I plead, my eyes blinking faster. _I don't want to watch someone else die. Do these logs really have _**_all _**_the answers?_

"Vivien, I really wanted to take this journey with you, to witness your transformation. Just like how I witnessed Brant Harris'…" He trails off again, preparing to open another video link. "I digress; God beckons me to the afterlife. Perhaps... perhaps we shall meet again after you play your part. After all, your story has just begun. It'd be a shame to see it all end now, to not make your own choices for your own ending. Now, I'm opening another link to the Engineer; he won't know that you're listening in but, I want to have some final words with him before passing on."

I waited tentively, jumping when I realized Aiden was rubbing his face against mine, purring, his tentacles wrapped around me in a light hug.

**He wants Mama to stop being sad... And, I want Mama to quit with the sobbing and move on.**

_And, I want Auntie Zillia to shut the hell up._

Mercer puts his calm façade back on, his hesitance gone. He's really going through with this... "Mercer, please! Don't do this; you don't have to do this!" He ignores my pleas, my requests. Maybe even the message being a one-way transmission… Seeing how it's all futile; I fall silent, watching as the wise madman made his choice.

"Your time has come. No need to be frightened. No reason to fight. Many have gone before us, and now it's time for us to take the voyage together, to transcend death... and let the future take its course. Join me, as I gaze upon the face of God!" Dr. Mercer spreads out his arms, ready to embrace his fate. A bat-like creature comes into view, hovering in front of Mercer. Within a moment, it unsheathes a proboscis, stabbing it into Mercer's forehead... Then the screen crackles away into static. Ironically, censoring Mercer's transformation for me.

I find myself backing up to the door and sliding down to the ground. I whimper, bringing my head back to the door with a small bang, only to hear a loud eerie, pained groan from the other side of the door. "God damn it..."


	8. Chapter 8: Painful Truth

Again, I'm very for the long break. I've been tying up loose ends from my relative passing. However, I do have some good news, the other 3 chapters are all typed. Bad news is that my beta reader will be away for a little while, but I'm hoping to have this all finished before the end of the month.

I want to thank you readers for being patient and understand. I really do truly appreciate all of the reviews, favorites, and story alerts, you guys.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Dead Space, some dialogue, or most of the characters mentioned in this story. Vi, Zillia, and everything else is mine.

_Italics:_ Vi's thoughts

**Bold: **Zillia's thoughts

* * *

Chapter 8: Painful Truth

_Why did he have to go? Mercer, you idiot... why didn't you take him on yourself? I'll never get to see Brant again. Is there really a point anymore? _

It's quiet; my RIG display was still on- showing nothing but static from Mercer's line. Aiden was trying his best to still cheer me up; nudging, purring, cuddling... he was trying everything just to beat a small smile out of me here and there.

The RIG display to Mercer got canceled out, replacing with one of the audio transmissions. "Vi! We got a shuttle!" He called, happily. Clearly being the best news he's had in days. "Please be sure to get access to Cargo ready. If you can, please get the Docking Bay ready as well. I'll see you soon." The line quickly cuts off and everything falls silent once more. (With the exception of Aiden and whatever was in the other room, groaning.)

**Vivi, stop feeling this way. This feeling, I hate it. It's yucky. Go bake some rainbows or something…**

_You're a moron._

I turn my attention back to Aiden again, watching another one of his attempts to make me happy. He was sitting up right on the ground in front of me, using his tentacles for some support. After a few moments of looking up at me, he covered both of his eyes with his little hands. Soon afterwards, he'd take his hands away and start giggling, swaying a little from the giggles. Once the giggling ceased, he tried again, continuing to play a little game of peek-a-boo. I broke down and smiled at Aiden. Even though he got me to smile, he still went for a third time; falling on his side from all the giggling. I picked him up and cradled him, his little hands playing around with some of my hair.

**Well, you two definitely have something in common; you're both easily side-tracked.**

_Why do you keep talking to me?_

**I want to know what the good doctor said in those messages he sent, they have to be important… Besides, I love a good story.**

I snort at her response, but I couldn't help but feel curious as well. Besides, they had to be important if he gave them to me right before he died. Another pained moan echoes from the door, making me all that more reluctant to open that door. _A surprise for Vi?_

**Yup! Hope you have fun with this one, Vivi. **

I shake my head at her before finally getting up, still holding onto Aiden in my arms. Hesitantly, I opened the door, only to see another hideous Necromorph. One that was, luckily, immobile. The layers of the same fleshy substance from Mining were on the walls, the Necromorph seeming as if he were growing out of the walls. From the fleshy blob that the Necromorph was, the only "human" thing about it was its deformed face, crying out in pain. I stepped back away from the door, waiting for it to close and hide the hideous mess- watching the guarding fleshy mess whip out half a dozen tentacles.

"Okay, I'm not going that way…" I mumble, looking around for a vent to crawl into. Only to see the ones on the ceiling, out of reach. Great. The only other vent for me to access is, _maybe_ another vent in the other room…

"Aiden, mind helping me out a little bit?" He responds with a small, enthusiastic nod- being in a fairly, blissful mood. (Despite trying to get around hunk of flesh… A wall guardian perhaps?) I smile a little at his response, before gesturing to the vent above. "Mommy needs you to open a vent in the other room, okay? Give me a shout when it's open, all right?" Aiden moves about in my arms, rubbing his face against mine before scurrying off to the vent overhead- tearing it apart and disappearing from sight.

I stand close to the door, waiting to hear Aiden or a shaft from the other side. Something hard to do with the Necromorph in the other room. Moans, groans... cries of pain. That of a broken being trapped... _Is that going to happen to me, too?_

**Ahahaha- no. Being stuck to a wall is boring, I'd personally like to have some fun; chasing down the beats, increasing the numbers. The guard in the other room? His host was beyond repair... **

The whimpers of the Necromorph in the other room had, or at least paused long enough to hear Aiden screeching. Finding myself hesitating at the door.

**Well, go on Vivi, don't be shy- you wouldn't want to keep your precious little one waiting.**

I snort at her before opening the door, just in time to see the disfigured remains to spew out a pod- er, a baby? Doesn't matter, and don't want to wait around to find out. I see Aiden peeking his head out of a vent to the left. I rush towards it, passing the pod on my way- watching a tendril snake out of the pod and into the air. As I climb into the vent, I hear something whip past me, a barb embedding itself into the wall.

The Wall Guardian shoots out another pod while I use kinesis to get the vent shaft back on before going off in the tunnels again. Aiden whipping one of his tendrils around my hand to guide me through.

**How fortunate for you, Vivi. If you were just a little more to the right, the barb would've nailed our beautiful face.**

_You're not exactly beautiful yourself... All I needed to see were _**_my _**_eye and _**_my_**_ hand._

**Oh, now Vivi... that hurts. 'Sides, I'm giving you something not everyone gets to have: an opportunity to be special.**

_And, how should I feel-_

**Brant still feels like you're special, don't wanna upset him now, do you? Who knows, he might've killed you if it weren't for me... Same with little Aiden. **

I shake my head at her, stumbling out of the vent shaft and into the second Control Room. Aiden quickly crawling back up on my shoulder. The room had a nice view of the docking bay, the... empty docking bay, compared to the hustle and bustle of life it once had. I walk over to the controls, unlocking the shuttle doors for Dr. Kyne.

**Aw, don't give me the silent treatment. Plus, what are ya going to do while you wait for dear old Doctor Kyne? Oh, I know! Let's read one of those logs the late great Mercer sent us. He did say that it was important~**

_No, this isn't a game or a joke, Zillia. He died, I'll probably-_

**Vivi, don't you think he wanted you to read them? They have to have some juicy stuff in 'em if he went out of his way to get them to you _before_ he died. Besides, I'm starting to enjoy reading into you more. Kinda glad, thought you were going to be boring.**

It's quiet again, aside from Aiden's purring- still trying his best to cheer me up over the two deaths. To be honest, my mind was on a different, more current matter at the moment. With a sigh, I pull up my RIG's messages, looking through the various messages Mercer had sent. Perhaps... a half a dozen of them, only one of them didn't have a lock. Ignoring the locked ones, I go straight for the first text log and open it.

Dearest Vivien,

By now, I must have passed on by God's will- at the Hive Mind's request. It's a shame that I couldn't witness your transformation. I've pondered for some time over what kind of Necromorph you would turn into- but, I digress and shall get to the matter at hand.

I have sent you several files along with this message; some of my own work, while others are classified secrets between the higher ranks of Unitology. Specifically, between Captain Matthius, Dr. Kyne, and myself. All of this classified information pertaining to you, Vivien. The things we've kept from you have been... it's been quite awful to hide these pieces of information from you.

However, you won't be knowing anything just yet, my dear. Do not forget the task at hand; you must escape the Ishimura. Time is ticking and that planet cork is getting ready to drop. The other messages have time locks on them, the next one unlocking minutes after the planet cork is to drop.

Tell me, Vivien. Will you give up and throw it all away? Allowing the Necromorph in you to win? Or, will you fight for you survival? Leaving your once home on the Ishimura and facing the real world once more?

Sincerely,

Dr. Challus Mercer

**Looks like you never understood the whole picture... huh, Vivi?**

I quickly close the file, feeling a bit frustrated and, of course, betrayed. "Yep... maybe the grand, old Dr. Kyne will finally spill."

**You're not going to commit suicide? Like the others? I thought you were weak of spirit after... all this. All that your little heart had to take.**

_As much as I want to end it all, I won't... I want to defy you by living, help Isaac Clarke survive in the process, if need be._

She's quiet for a moment, reconsidering my words. I walk over to the control panels; unlocking the doors for the doctor. Aiden looking precariously over my shoulder, waving the tentacles through the holograms playfully.

**I'll give you some credit, I thought you were weaker than this, with all the crying and sobbing you've done... **I snort at her, but stop playing with the controls to hear her out. **But, you can't stay alive forever, Vivi. Eventually, your story will be told, you will join this family... and it'll be my turn to play.**

**After all, I'm the pen leaving behind my marks, and they most definitely have a story to be told. **


	9. Chapter 9: Parting Words

Sorry for the long break, my beta reader recently came back, so I'm more than happy to put this chapter up right now. Expect Chapter 10 the latest of next weekend, with Chapter 11 to follow. I apologize greatly if this message seems a bit rushed, but currently I've got hurricane Irene here and the storm has cut the power twice while trying to upload. Enjoy the chapter! And, thank all of you guys for sticking with this story! (I swear, even a hurricane wants to get in the way of this, jeez.)

**Disclaimer:** I'm still not awesome enough to own Dead Space. XD Most characters and some dialogue are owned by Visceral Games. Vivien, Zillia, and everything else are mine.

_Italics: _Vi's thoughts

**Bold:** Zillia's thoughts

* * *

Chapter 9: Parting Words

So, we waited... and waited, and waited.

As time passed, I grew anxious of talking to the doctor, wondering what exactly he's been keeping from me.

_Of course, Mercer could be lying instead. He's done it before. Would Kyne really keep things from me? _

The thought bothered me. Probably more than it really should. To be honest, I absolutely hate being left in the dark. It's the only reason why I bother with hacking the Ishimura database at times.

Then again, there was something more important for me to attend to.

Aiden nudges the side of my face, wanting to be cuddled and loved instead of me just standing around doing nothing. Maybe even waiting for nothing.

"Okay, come here," I tell him, having to help him a bit. It was a bit of a... heart ache to see him struggling from his wounds. I prop him up, having his head lay on my shoulder- swaying back and forth, my anxiety building up every moment. (Babies liked that right? Would Necromorphs?)

Then, before I could pull up my RIG's menu again, a voice link opens up with Kyne on the other end. "Vivien, I'm coming now, please open the shuttle doors. Once the Marker's been loaded, I'll send a message once it's safe to come down. Hang tight for a little bit longer," Kyne stated, hints of excitement peeking in here and there.

I open my mouth to reply, but before I could, the line falls dead and the silence continues on again.

* * *

Time escapes me faster than it should, than I want it to.

All I could do was watch from the control room up above, watching Isaac take on multiple Necromorphs. Jumping at him this way and that. I'll admit, he was clever quite a number of times; using things like explosives to hurl at them... other times, it seemed like the Engineer jumped out of the just in time before being nailed by blade or shot at by the troublesome barbs- inching his way on the track with the Marker.

Somehow, he managed to pull it off and, I'll be quite honest, I'm impressed.

_His tour of the Ishimura must have been... interesting, to say the least. Undoubtedly made easier with the Cutter._

Aiden's purring picks up, reminding me of what I have to do.

**You're gonna kill him aren't you? He was cute to tote around while it lasted, wasn't it?**

_I... _**_You_**_, I would never kill him. Hell, I risked my life already for him; shouldn't that mean something to you? _

**Now, now, Vivi. Don't get your suit in a bunch. I was curious and need to be entertained, after all.**

_I swear, you are going to drive me insane..._

**But, aren't we all insane?**

I sigh, feeling inched to the breaking point with her... but, wasn't that how she got the better of me last time? How mad I was at those survivors? My fellow co-workers that just... wanted to live?

**You know they deserved it... The little one just wanted to help. The thought of him being dead just broke your little heart to pieces. **

_Yes, thank you so much for the recap. _

I walk over to the vent, prying Aiden from my shoulder- being tougher than I expected... While I was distracted with Zillia, Aiden had gotten a hold of some of my hair to play with. I release my hair from his tiny, reluctant grasp before holding him out at arm's length. I try to think of a way to phrase my instructions, just so that he won't follow me again...

"Aiden, would you like to play a game? A game of hide-and-seek?" I asked, putting on a fake smile on my face. Of course, Aiden shrieked happily. Whether it was from the smile or the proposed game, I don't think I'll ever know. "Okay, Aiden," I began to hold him closely, walking back to the window over looking the Flight Hangar. I point at the shuttle, "You see that? You have until it leaves to hide, all right?" And, Aiden shrieks once more, seeming to comprehend the rules.

Another message is sent to my RIG, the text message told me to head down to leave. We're this close to leaving this horror story. I send a reply that I would need help leaving the room due to the Necromorph waiting right outside, it doesn't look like he'd be moving anytime soon.

Once the message was sent, I held onto Aiden a little tighter, walking back over to the vent. _My last time holding him..._ I put him down into the vent- already he's looking around, thinking of which direction to go in for hiding. I pull the grate back on, and I can already hear him crawling through the vents. "Be careful, Aiden," I whisper, before pulling out some gauze in my inventory, mindlessly walking back over to the window.

**A shame, you never did see the child's full potential. Are you sure you wanted to let him go?**

I shrug at her, focusing on wrapping my hand up to pass it off as an injury. I look into the Flight Hangar- it took a moment, but I spotted Dr. Kyne gesturing to Isaac to hurry over.

**How do you know he's just going to leave you behind? You trust him about what Mercer's said? **

I busy with my hand once more, completely ignoring Zillia's suspicions. "He's probably telling Isaac right now, since when was Mercer completely honest? Besides, since when did you become my conscience, anyway?"

I tie up the ends of the bandage and steal another look out the window. At first, I dismissed the scene to get a good look at my hand, but then I realized something was amiss and looked out again.

Dr. Kyne had been shot.

...And, undoubtedly dying.

The shot was to the chest, no doctor could slow down such a wound. Kyne had his hand held out, seeming to reach out to someone before falling to the ground. Then, that's when I realized the shuttle had flown away...

At first glance, I thought Isaac had betrayed Kyne. However, that was impossible, he was standing right next to the dying man while the shuttle had flown away. After all, a shot from a Plasma Cutter would've been a a linear cut, not a gaping hole. (Of course, I would know this, being a nurse whose seen those types of wounds helps.) Who else was there? A person kind enough to leave us on this, filled with over a thousand infected crew members?

**Looks like you'll never get to interrogate him, huh? **

Zilia's voice was cold water bringing me back to reality- she was right, I'll never know the truth behind his side of the story. Is it bad that I'm more upset about not having answers compared to grief over an innocent man's life, someone who's helped me for years, being over?

"Isaac! It's Fay! I need you to help me, I'm in the flight control room. Please, Isaac hurry!"

**What are you planning?**

I glance over at the vent, hoping that Aiden would stay put. "I'm going to get the Marker back... maybe even get a hold of whoever shot Kyne," I explain, getting to work at the controls, trying to call back the lost shuttle. Luckily, no one had changed these passwords, my small plan had a chance.

A few moments passed before a shots were fired in the neighboring room. I pause at the controls and look at the door- my heart racing in great panic. _Was that Aiden?_ I froze, holding my breath. Half believing I was truly going to crack upon hearing his cries.

But, all I could hear were the wails of agony from the Wall Guardian.I sigh of great relief at such a horrible howl.

I pull a new glove on over my hand. Not too long after, the Engineer comes through the door- holding his Plasma Cutter up, expecting another Necromorph. I don't blame him in the least, you never know what could be waiting around the corner...

**Or, hiding in plain sight... Like, you and I.**

I ignore her and focus on the Engineer, "Isaac? Is that really you? I never thought we'd make it here, alive..." I trail off, thinking of everything that had happened since we lost saw each other down in Mining. I wait for him to respond, but he doesn't. I had forgotten that it's almost impossible to make out what anyone says when wearing one of those suits. "...But, I need you help to pilot the shuttle remotely." Something that I found to be a flaw in the system that you needed two people.

I turn to my own controls as Isaac walks over to his. Once the shuttle call back was activated, a voice link opened up from Isaac's RIG. "Isaac, what the hell are you doing?" A familiar, female voice shouted. "You're making a big mistake. This is not over!" The line was quickly cut from there.

"_Escape pod away, crew shuttle USG-09. Repeat, shuttle has ejected escape pod._" The computer's warned, the news couldn't help but make me out right pissed.

_She got away, karma's sure to get her. _"It doesn't matter. She can't escape her fate," I reassure Isaac, glancing over at him at the controls. "None of us can..." The last thought sent shivers down my back.

Not too long after, the shuttle had returned. "Here it comes!" I pointed out enthusiastically, the thought of a plan actually working a-okay was incredibly relieving. _We should return the Marker... it's what Kyne wanted. The hunk of rock is just a bad omen, anyway... _ "I'll reprogram the shuttle so we can fly down to the colony. We're so close, Isaac. Now, go. Get on the shuttle, I'll meet you there."

After some hesitation on Isaac's part, he leaves the room to get to the shuttle. Leaving me to finish up the shuttle reprogramming and a last minute peek into the ship's classified files. The programing didn't take too long, so I go to the list of crew members; showing their RIG statuses. Eerily enough, Dr. Kyne was right, my RIG wasn't listed on this list at all... In fact, Isaac's was the only one. Which meant Nicole was probably dead... unless she was lucky enough to get onto a shuttle. After all, Kyne had ruined everyone's chances by shooting out all the escape pods.

I sigh, wishing for the best- while I change the passwords on the ship. Just as an extra precautionary measure if the Ishimura _did_ survive. No one should get their hands these files... nothing about the Marker should be passed on, so that it won't become a plaything of people pretending to play God. Or, more importantly, any files Mercer may have left behind; another Brant or another me shouldn't exist.

Once everything was set up, I quickly walk over to the door and pause for a moment. "Aiden, I'm sorry, that I can't stay,"I stalled, wanting to say more... but, I move on- heading down to the Flight Lounge.

I peer out at the platform, seeing scattered remains of more Necromorphs. I step around them, feeling as if I were being watched- despite the fact that they're dead.

**Good, Vivi, because you are. Necromorphs don't "die", we just get dismembered to the point that we're incapable of moving. We twitch, and our innards writhe-**

"That's all wonderful to know," I cut her off, truly not interested in the least. The awkward eye contact with the Leapers didn't help one bit.

Then came the part of the stretch that I was going to hate; Dr. Kyne's remains. I pause at his side, taking a small moment of silence before moving on. After all, why should I say anything good of him now when he might turn out to be quite hated later?

I hurry onto the shuttle to join Isaac, sitting in the second chair in the shuttle. As I sit down, I try to pick up on some small idle talk... Might as well, right? The ride's a good ten minutes down to the colony. "You're doing great, Isaac. With how you handled those Necromorphs? Nothing can stop us now," I comment, trying to be nice... but in such a situation, everything came out awkwardly... After all, we're not in the clear yet... Besides, how can I really be positive? I just lost five people I loved and cared for, another I had to let go... and, I had received a souvenir that I never wanted.

Isaac didn't respond, he got the shuttle going to send us to Aegis VII. It wasn't until we left the Ishimura behind that he had pulled the helmet off him. The poor man was pretty banged up, it was the first time I ever saw his face, too. "Nicole..."

_Did he just..._

**I told you everyone's insane...**


	10. Chapter 10: Eluding Discovery

I'll be honest this time around, I haven't wanted to work on this for some time. Let alone edit it. I have started college and a lot of things at home have been going under lately and it's been to the point where I'm thinking about moving out. So, things have been a tad rough. But, this fic is still at the front of my mind, and I am determined to finish this. I'm just oh so terribly sorry for how long it's been. I really can't stress it enough when I say that I really do appreciate you guys for just the reviews, the faves, the alerts, and to just read this fic. Especially with how much I've been lacking and I really hope you guys enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it!

**Disclaimer:** I'm still not awesome enough to own Dead Space. XD Most characters and some dialogue are owned by Visceral Games. Vivien, Zillia, and everything else are mine.

_Italics: _Vi's thoughts

**Bold:** Zillia's thoughts

* * *

Chapter 10: Eluding Discovery

As the moments passed, Isaac's face grew softer. He was happy, relieved, just to see me, his apparent girlfriend. "Nicky, I can't believe you made it," He began, getting flustered quickly after the sentence slipped. "Well, I know you have your persistent moments, Nicky, but… You have no idea just how relieved I am to see you."

As nice and sweet Isaac was being for Nicole, I was sick to my stomach. What would happen if Isaac found out?

**Vivi, I'll be honest, you're probably one of the best hosts I could've ever hoped for. There's always something going on with you. **

_I'm not some story for you to read, Zillia. Not some play thing to make metaphors out of. So, while I'm in this situation, it'd be great if you could just shut... whatever it is you're using._

**Oh~ Someone's touchy. Fine, I'll just... what was it? Kick back and enjoy the view? Meanwhile, I'll be festering in your brain while you worry about relationships. **

I suppressed the urge to roll my eyes at her, especially under Isaac's watch. "Look, Isaac... I'm really sorry bu-"

"No, it's all right, Nicole. Let's not worry about any of that, it wasn't your fault," Isaac interrupted, before growing quiet. The strong composure that this man had was cracking, and not just because he's been battered from the hell he's just traveled through; something was obviously bothering him... (And, might I add, there was no way this conversation was going to be getting any easier.)

Isaac inched closer unexpectedly, which frightened me. How close would he be until he saw through the illusion? More importantly, will I really have to play Nicole's role as girlfriend and play his heart, just to get away uncaught?

"Nicole, you sure you're all right? You seem... pretty beaten up," He asked concerned, bringing his gloved hand up to hold my chin. The other to brush away my bangs to gaze right at my scar. My red tinted eye. The monster part of me. I closed my eyes, thinking that this was it and trying to brace myself for his outrage, for his discovery.

"Nicky, you're badly bruised, what happened?" The tip of his finger now tracing the lines of my scar, the bruise he sees in his eyes.

His response was a shock, the mere fact that he could _not_ see the scar whatsoever was both a relieving and sickening feeling. I open my eyes, spitting out the first lie that came to mind. "The other survivors, there was a fight... One of them had got me pretty good." I tried my best to stare him down, to not be intimidated under his watch. The longer I studied his face, the more my stomach knotted. I could see them going this way and that under his skin, his veins. To make things worse, I could feel Zillia's attention prickling at the back of my head; how badly she wanted me to make a move and watch the blood pool. The idea was sickening and her mental images were nauseating.

Isaac studied the "bruise" more closely, then after a few moments finally spoke again. "Yeah, he must've nailed you good, your eye is even red. I know I'm not a doctor, that's your job," He chuckled once before becoming concerned again. "You sure you're all right? You shouldn't have done that, it could've been worse... but, he's lucky I wasn't there; that's for sure."

"Yeah, I'm just fine, Isaac," I reply, lying to the poor guy some more. _Of course not... As long as Zillia's around, that will never happen. _"Isaac, it's just a bruise, I promise I'll be fine. That's nothing compared to those Necromorphs."

After a few quiet moments, Isaac brought his hands down, seeming reluctant to do just a simple task as that. It must pain him being so close to his beloved Nicole yet so far from our true destination; safety. He seemed under so much pressure, trying to engineer his own escape plan where we could both get out alive. Meanwhile, the truth was gnawing at me on the inside... He needs to know! "Isaac, I am so sorry for putting you through all of this, I just-"

I stopped dead when Isaac cupped my face in his hands, pulling my face closer to his where we were barely an inch apart. "Listen to me, Nicole," He stated, automatically getting my attention with how he sounded; how stubborn he was for his girlfriend to not be sorry about anything. "I would and _will_ do anything for you... I would go through this hell all over again, just for you," He continued on, whispering to me, trying to soothe the obvious guilt I had over everything. As if this whole infection was his fault to begin with.

I just look into his wild blue eyes, I couldn't think of anything to say! I didn't realize I was crying until his gloved thumb brushed a few tears off my cheek. "I'm the one that should be sorry Nicole, I'm sorry that I convinced you to go on the Ishimura, to take this damned job," He pauses for a moment, seeming to fight back his own tears and self-loathing. "You wouldn't have gone through any of this if it weren't for me..." Isaac trails off, his guilt becoming an unbelievable burden on him.

Without thinking, I bring my hands up to cup his own face, so that he couldn't look away and could focus only on me (or, Nicole, in this case). "Isaac,"I began, sounding a bit frail from all the emotions I was suffering from. My thoughts quickly drifted off to Brant, and how I would try to make him feel better in this situation. "It's okay, Isaac. I'm here, right?" I give him a small smile, trying my best to sound soothing for him- rubbing my thumb against his cheek. What a sad sight, seeing a knight falling apart before the princess he tried so hard to save. "I want you to promise me that you will _not_ feel guilty about any of this. You couldn't prevent any of it, you didn't know this infection was going to break out. You didn't engineer the Marker, either, Isaac," I couldn't keep up with staying strong. Slowly my voice got quieter, more feeble. "Promise me that... you'll never blame yourself for any of this..."

To my dismay, Isaac remains quiet, like he wanted to make that promise, but knew he'd break it in the long run. Instead, he makes me stand, before I knew it, he'd pulled me into his arms. _Fuck! _**_Vivien, _**_what the hell are you doing? This is so bad, no, horrible! No, no, no, no, no. Isaac, you're killing me... how much do I have to play on you? To lie to you? _Despite wanting to reject this embrace, there was familiarity to it. Isaac and I both lost a loved one on this haunting day, all we desire most is to have our loved ones in our arms.

He tightened his hold on me, as if he had to really _feel_ that Nicole was there, in his arms, but she isn't. "You know I would do anything for you, Nicky," He reminded me, barely speaking above a whisper in the quiet ship. As if someone were listening and waiting to snatch me away at any moment. "I love you, Nicole, I never want to let you go."

...And I said the first thing that came to mind, that would've come to Nicole's mind... "I love you, too, Isaac..." I whisper back, my lips quivering from all the stress and emotions drowning me, all the self-loathing I have for this damned acting. The shuttle was preparing to land, meanwhile, I thought it'd finally be the end of all this misery.

Of course, that's never the case.

Before I knew it, I was tasting the lies on my lips. Isaac held my chin up for a kiss, perhaps for good luck with what lay ahead of him, or just the strong desire for how long the two had been apart. I resisted the urge to back off and yell at him for such an unexpected kiss, but... the real Nicole wouldn't have done that, now would she? After it was all I could take, all that I can take in before revealing my real position, I pull away. "Isaac, remember, we're here to finish this, to contain it. Don't get carried away, not when we're almost done," I respond upon seeing his longing composure, as if a child got cheated out of a cookie.

Isaac remained hovering over me for a few moments, as if he wanted to throw everything away just to guard me, to be in my presence. But, he was a smart guy, (Shouldn't he be? He's an engineer, after all.) he released his grip on me and grabbed his helmet, sighing as he looked down at it. "You know, Nicky, I hate it when you're right, but we do have some catching up to do later," He said with a smile, glancing between his helmet and I. "One of these days when things get back to normal, I want to see you wearing this, you wouldn't look half-bad," He chuckled, putting his helmet back on and getting his suit readjusted.

I rolled my eyes at him and his comment, smiling a little despite the situation. "I'm not an engineer, Isaac, you big nerd," I tease him, getting ready to leave the shuttle. The image of me wearing such a big and odd suit was a foreign concept to me, and a silly one at that. I stop at the door of the shuttle, turning over to him. "Promise me at least this, Isaac..." I start, watching his attention go from his suit to me. "Don't be late."

He gave a quick, reassuring nod to my promise, before looking around for his Cutter. Then I left the protection of the shuttle to see how mangled the colony was...

Just taking one measly step outside made it all seem like a dead war zone.

The place rank of death, the Necromorphs. Everything was deserted, versus the Ishimura having potential survivors, there was no one here. No chance, the starting point of the infection was here. You'd have to have some amazing talent to have lived for so long here. Then I looked up at the sky, the planet cork hanging precariously up above, hanging on by the strings from the Ishimura.

"That's right... we have less than an hour left, to place the Marker where it belongs and escape it all..." I whisper, staring up into the sky. Not just to stare down our possible demise, but to look up at the sky in general. How long has it been since I stood on a planet and looked up at a sky?

Then I looked down and stared at the other buildings circling the planet cork site, all the buildings on the horizon, trying to take everything in. Why? This was where Brant lived after all, where he worked day after day. How I would give anything to have him with me right now... He never did like it here, and his last few days were spent like a prisoner. Could I have changed any of that? Help him escape while I had the chance?

I began to walk around on the docking platform, my mind losing itself in Brant and the events from the shuttle. If he knew, would he be mad at me? Would he hate me? The thoughts made my stomach turn, might as well have been doing dog tricks with how much it hurt.

Isaac finally made his entrance from the shuttle, "Isaac, get one of the loaders to get the Marker off the shuttle." I instruct him, walking along the tracks. I watch Isaac go around the back to grab whatever pick me ups he saw, getting the Marker unloaded at the same time. I couldn't help but stare down the hunk of rock. I know that the whole reason why we were here was for the Marker, that we had picked it up before everything went to hell, but to see it in front of me... Something I used to pray to as a kid, it was unreal.

**Get over your petty thoughts and get to work, don't you want to run back into the shuttle?**

I froze when I heard Zillia, not only was I distracted to the point of forgetting her presence, but the way she sounded wasn't the norm for her. However, I shrug it off, focusing on the task at hand and to have it done within the time limit given.

As Isaac drags the Marker along the rail, he stops mid-drag to go into the building for the power cell. I walk up closer to the Marker, taking in all the symbols decorating the rock. My head hurt the closer I- no, Zillia was the one in pain. My left hand was numb, like the blood flow was nonexistent, my left eye wouldn't open up to see the symbols. "Why...?" I mumble, not understanding why I was having this reaction.

**Just... move, go back to the shuttle.**

_But..._ My childhood fancies were playing me, like any other Unitologist, I longed to see the Marker. A childhood dream come true...

**_Now._**

After another quick look, I stagger away from the Marker and over to the ramp for the shuttle. Regaining the feeling in my... in her hand and her sight, almost like restarting a computer; everything seemed clearer than normal. "What was _that _all about?" I snap at her, wanting an answer.

I could hear her sigh softly, my left hand twitching as if she were making sure everything was functioning. Which was weird in itself, might I add... **That, was one of the side effects of the Marker. Don't you think that thing would have affected _you_ in some way? With me being here? I thought you were smart enough to realize that with your objective here. You humans lose sight of everything so easily.**

I roll my eyes, looking over at the Marker again. It got me wondering about what might happen later... If the Marker was able to contain the infection from the pedestal, then what will happen to me? Will I have come all this way just to die from her deadweight?

**Hey, I'm not deadweight, you-**

**_Arooooo..._**

"What was that?" I asked, afraid to know the answer. Startled, I got back on my feet, looking around for the source.

**A killer space whale... What do _you_ think it is? Especially on a Necromorph infested planet? **The Necromorph called out again, louder this time, getting closer. **After all, it's the brilliant Engineer's fault for not leaving you with a weapon... Oh, aside from me, of course. **

After scanning the area, I turn around to head into the shuttle, maybe just to look for a weapon or some sort of cover. Had to be the best timing I've ever had in my whole life. I see something blowing in the wind on top of the shuttle. I couldn't help but freeze up from curiosity at the sight of it.

Within mere moments, the tall, slender figure came into sight from the top of the shuttle. Its body stripped of its flesh. It was a wonder how its limbs didn't just fall off. The suit the Necromorph wore was tattered, the cloth was what caught my eye beforehand. We stared each other down, and I hoped that this one may actually be nice like Aiden...

**Trust me, you won't like his hugs, it'll end in us losing our head. Why he's not moving, I have no idea. **

The Necromorph just peered down curiously at me, but after a moment, I decided it was time for me to run. I'd much rather not gamble my life away on a hunch, especially this far into the game- not when we're so close. The Necromorph had reached its three-fingered claws towards me and I slide my way into the shuttle. I turn around to lock the shuttle's door, but the Necromorph was already in hot pursuit. Whether its desire was to sate its curiosity or blood-thirst, I'd rather not find out.

I fire a shot of stasis at it, fleeing to the captains cockpit and locking the door in there instead. Never have I been happier to see an orange locked hologram before in my life. Soon after that, the Necromorph was banging on the door, its eerie howls echoing from the other side.

**Huh, maybe it was just curious. He's sad now, nice going, Vivi. What kind of monster are you?**

The bangs continue, the time in between each bang increasing. Figuring I was safe, I peer out the window, watching Isaac make his entrance into the area once more; plugging the battery into the wall. The bangs stopped then, and another long call from the Necromorph riding on the air. Isaac turned toward the shuttle and began firing.

An interesting bout to watch, at the very least. The Necromorph would swipe at Isaac, and he'd move out of the way in time. In turn, when Isaac fired from the Cutter, the Necromorph would be taken aback from the shots, stumbling back a step or two. And then, the interesting twist happened, (or, perhaps it was just the Necromorph's specific design to do this...) the Necromorph had collapsed, but even then the fight wasn't won. The Necromorph's limbs fell apart, the body becoming undone. But the hands, feet, and head slithered along on tendrils towards Isaac; _still_ sponging up his shots. Not too long from there was Isaac left with the monster's head, even then the head jumped at Isaac and the tendrils constricted his neck. I gasped and began unlocking the door, when I looked back out the window again, Isaac had regained control of the situation. He grabbed the head by the tendrils and began whacking at it with his Plasma Cutter. The head fell down to the ground and no longer moved.

The fight really didn't last long, Isaac didn't even seem phased. He continued on, using kinesis to drag the Marker along the tracks and get the doors to open, advancing in the objective. Then disappearing through the new doors, guiding the Marker back to its pedestal.

I locked the door back up and sat back down in Isaac's chair, grazing my hair with my shaky fingers. _Am I even safe here? _I groaned at the thought of dealing with more of these Necromorphs, but if the one... divided Necromorph couldn't get through the door, is it even possible for the others?

**Why would we bother with you, Vivi? The troublesome Engineer is the one with the Marker. What I'm curious about is how many of us will it take to bring him down... **I could hear her scoff, contemplating over the numbers and the odds against him. **I'd really like to see how well he fairs with _Him_. **

I continue to gaze through the glass, keeping an eye out for anything that moved; resting my head on my hand. It was odd, having my hand wrapped up like a mummys . _Well... more ridiculous than anything, my hand looks stupidly swollen compared to the other. _I continued to watch the nothingness outside, my heart beginning to race over some paper riding the wind. "So, Zillia," I began, trying to keep some sort of composure in front her... but, her being in my head; it's probably impossible to hide such things. "Who is this 'Him'? If Isaac was able to... you know, uhm, subdue Brant, whose name is also the Regenerator, then what hope does 'He' have?" The truth pained me, the selfish thought of getting Isaac back for Brant's death began swimming around my head.

**Oh~ I like that feeling, seems like we've both got our eyes on something.**

_Don't you dare play on those emotions, Zillia. That was Mercer's fault, if I had been in charge, I wouldn't have allowed Brant to go. Now focus on my question, God dammit._

**Hm, fine... He, is a wonderful product of our kind. Yes, the hunting Necromorph, your precious Brant, was an amazing Necromorph- especially at the hands of a human. However, He is the reason why I'm here, tinkering away at your body, instead of being stuck in a... what was the term, "God forsaken", right? Well, just a silly little tube on Mercer's shelf. Can you imagine how boring that would've been? **

At this point, I wasn't focusing on anything outside the window. Just looking out and taking in Zillia's answers, then I thought about that one Necromorph... the one that was studying me. "And, that dividing Necromorph, what was up with him?"

**We can't be curious about your kind as well? No, you're right, normally we aren't. There are "special" cases where some of us won't attack and we have a form of... what? Senty... Sentiel... **It felt like Zillia was picking her way through a filing cabinet in my mind, which felt a lot stranger than it sounded. **Ah, there we go, sentience. If, and only if, we managed to salvage the host's personality from life... Take your loving Brant for example, his love for you followed him into the after life. Maybe that guy was a curious sort when he was alive or...**

"Or...? Or, what?"

**Or, he wanted to see me. Don't you remember? When the infant saw _my_ eye, he stopped misbehaving and became your own. They realize you're infected that way, so there's no need to attack when _I _could be damaged. **

"Zillia! You couldn't tell me this sooner? Do you realize how much trouble that could've saved me?"

**Hey, most of my family that you found was before I woke up. Besides, it's not as fun to watch if you always parade past them, right? **

I shake my head at her, looking at some of the crates laying around. "You're impossible to deal with at times..." I sigh, looking around at the shuttle controls now.

**Well, now, if I were impossible dear Vivi, you would have forfeited the game by now, right? Besides, how could you possibly deal with Brant in the first place? He was _so_ jealous of the Engineer when he woke up from his nap. **

_He wasn't jealous. Brant was just..._

**Doing what Mercer told him to do, you told me that story already, sweet heart. But, listen here, Brant had the opportunity to _kill_ Mercer, more than once. It was his own choice to hunt the Engineer down. He was doing it to protect you, out of love. _Oh,_ I can only imagine what his reaction would be to what happened on the shuttle. **

_He was just trying to protect me?_

I could feel Zillia's smugness from my question, that she knew so much and I so little. **To protect you, he probably saw Isaac as a threat. Or, maybe he just willed to sleep with you forever.**

It grew quiet for a few moments before a shrill cry sounded off in the distance. The ground shook, and I felt a rising alarm from this. But, Zillia's voice just giggled childishly at the response, like it really wasn't much of a big deal.

**Calm down, Vivi. You're fine for now. **She paused for a few moments before finally telling me what she'd been thinking about.** What do you believe they feel about me?**

_They...? Who's they? _

**The ones that are always watching you, watching us. Don't tell me you don't know who "they" are.**

_The Unitologists? If anything, they'd be amazed that the Marker got destroyed and I did nothing._

**Not them, really. _They_ know who I'm talking about. They're probably wondering why it's taking so long to take you away and pit you against the Engineer. Or, how they feel about me in general; do they hate me? Like me? Understand my jokes?**

"What in the world are you talking about? Please stop speaking in riddles... I'm tired of it," Only she doesn't respond again.

Looking up at the sky, in the distance, there was a beam of light shooting up toward the sky. Before I could gaze up at it in awe, I was overwhelmed with pain and this God awful headache. My vision suddenly blurred and I held my left hand close to me as a sharp pain began. My mind was feeling that of a lost transmission signal; nothing was clear. All I could do was wince at the sudden pain and the great nausea that came with it. If this is what it takes to purge myself of Zillia, then so be it.

But, just as the pain had started, it vanished. I slowly began to unravel myself, I didn't even realize I had curled up this way. However, I'm frustrated at this. How can I not? It meant that Zillia was still being housed in my body. I want to scream, maybe even find the nearest object to get rid of the infected parts and retaliate. Soon after that feeling, I felt miserable... and the tears to match.

_What if I have to endure this pain the whole time after we leave?_

_...What if she wins?_

As if someone had flipped the switch; she was back live again.

**Paper!**

_What? You leave me with a break down and say that?_

**Oh... what a nice welcoming committee, I missed you too.**

Despite her attitude making a reappearance, I could feel that she was nervous and afraid. This fact is absolutely unnerving, but... gave me some sort of hope; it means I might actually have a fighting chance. And her team was losing.

**You humans...** She began, pausing in the silence of everything while I wiped away my fresh tears. Stopping as another shrill cry sounded off in the distance and the shuttle shook. **You humans are very much like paper.**


	11. Chapter 11: The Lie

Okay! Here we go, guy! Last chapter's finally here! Oh God, it's taken quite a long time to get this finished up. Unfortunately, I cannot control what goes on with my end. I would like to thank all of you guys for the reviews, the watches, and everything. I also want to thank **Hemoptysis** for helping me out with feedback and encouraging me to keep going at times. And, especially my beta reader for staying up until the wee hours of the morning when I had the fic idea. For those of you that actually read my author notes, this was my first fic. I do plan on a sequel for this, and I would really like to make it better. So, opinions would be great.

Well, enough of my rambling, enjoy the last chapter!

**Disclaimer:** Most characters and some dialogue are owned by Visceral Games. Vivien, Zillia, and everything else are mine.

_Italics: _Vi's thoughts

**Bold:** Zillia's thoughts

* * *

Chapter 11: The Lie

"Come on... Come on! How do I work this thing?" I cry out, frantically pushing as many buttons and levers as I possibly could. Stopping whenever the shuttle shook, being whacked or shaken up by the monstrosity outside. Its cries of pain and furious roars becoming louder as time shots went off.

**Funny, the best of the best can't seem to kill this man... Isaac Clarke... I'll be sure to remember him. Enjoy your vacation, Vivi.**

I shake my head at her, ignoring Zillia and her musing. It's all she's done while we waited here. Another great roar of pain. Stopping in my tracks again; the shuttle trembling violently. I pause and look out to the side of the shuttle; trying to steal a glimpse of what was going on. As if I didn't try to before.

Then suddenly there was a bang on the door.

_Shit, forgot to unlock the door for Isaac! _I jump for the door, moving out of the way and into the corner once it was opening. Watching the relieving sight of Isaac taking control of the shuttle. As the ship takes off, the take off knocks me down.

Not like I wanted to get up; I felt weak and tired. My stomach churning from the overwhelming dizziness washing over me. I try my best to look at Isaac or out the window of the shuttle, but despite my blurry vision, I could see the brightness coming from the window. Presumably the planet cork plummeting to Aegis VII. I cover my eyes from the light show, waiting to adjust myself to these symptoms. Then happiness overtook me; Zillia's gone! I have my mind to myself again! Then the silence settled in, a... bitter sweet sort of silence. I may be free of her, but she definitely left her mark.

I look over at Isaac, observing him with a video log up on the hologram. The sickening feeling in my stomach becoming worse. The thought of acting the whole trip to safety... I just can't bring myself to do it. _Isaac..._ I pick my head up and look over in Isaac's direction; seeing Nicole on the screen. _Nicole... Well, he's safe, Nicole. I'm sorry..._

"I wish I could talk to you one last-" I watch Isaac hesitate to cancel the video out before finally doing so, turning off the rest of the hologram displays afterwards.

I begin to get up by the vacant chair; glancing over at Isaac, only to see him flinching away from me. "What?" I ask, beginning to get worried.

Before I knew it, Isaac had pinned me up to the shuttle's wall; one hand in my hair, restraining me to his hand like an obedient puppet, and the other holding onto both my arms behind my back. All I could see was the wall, the cold metal stealing the heat away from my face. I tried to move to see Isaac's face, in return he steers me back into the wall with a bang so I wouldn't try to move again. "Who are you? You're not Nicole, Nicole's dead! Haven't I been through enough?" Isaac shouted, when I don't respond he pulls my hair back to look down at my face. I couldn't help but cry out in pain from my hair being yanked. "Who are you?"

"Zelaya..." I whispered, before Isaac began pulling on the reigns I call hair again... "Ow! Zelaya's kid! The Miner that taught you how to use the Plasma Cutter!" I cry out, wondering how badly he would take the news of seeing my eye. I could feel his grip loosening, but he still held on incase there were any reason to distrust me... maybe even contemplating to grab the tool and end me with it. "I'm that girl you helped two years ago, the night the Ishimura was leaving... The girl that snuck on board."

"Don't remind me of that night..." Isaac retorted, his voice slowly calming down... As calm as a broken man could be. "I could've been at fault for two people now..." I heard him mumble, before venting out more of his frustrations. "You were in Mining... Flight Deck... on the shuttle, too... right? Why didn't you say anything? Why..." He trails off, his breathing becoming heavy... maybe even fighting off tears and breaking down.

But, I could tell what he really wanted to ask... why couldn't I be Nicole. I remain quiet, there wasn't a real answer to this question; still, why did I go as far as I did last time? Ah, yes... Isaac kept interrupting. Never allowing me to speak the truth... "I... I am so sorry Isaac... I... I miss her, too..." I choked, feeling a few tears coming me way, all I could think about now was how many people I loved were gone... in a mere matter of hours, they were all gone. I could feel mourning's ice-cold grasp sapping away the warm happiness I felt moments ago...

Isaac finally releases his grip on me before wondering back to his chair, covering his bloodied face in his hands. I climbed into my own chair, breaking into a few sobs. "She looked just like her, and now... she doesn't. Am I really going insane?" He mumbled, trying to piece together _why_ he didn't see it through the illusion. "And, now she looks nothing like her..." It was quiet for a while; neither of us said anything as we contemplated our own losses... Fatigue biting away at our consciousness. Until Isaac finally spoke up, "Why did you keep that promise?"

* * *

More time passes and not a single word was said between the two of us, hardly ever a glance. Whenever I did look up at Isaac, he was clearly broken; no question about it. The air was tense, we both didn't trust each other, that was obvious. (I mean, should I? He just pinned me to a wall, on the brink of possibly hurting me. Had Zillia been there, things would have gotten ugly.) Although we don't trust each other, we do share common things right at this moment... We're both tired, constantly nodding off before checking on the other. And considering how long the ordeal was, we're both hungry and long over due for a shower.

...But, most importantly, we both lost the people that meant the whole universe to us.

The thought burned my eyes, so I closed them- drifting off into sleep again. All I could think about was how badly I wanted to be held by Brant again. For him to whisper all those nice things into my ear. Telling me the fantasy we shared of going to Earth and living together...

Then I hear an abrupt noise and snap out of it. I turn to Isaac's direction, fearing that maybe he'd pin me up again, strangle me. But, no, he's snoring away in his chair; being the first to give out in our stare down. I eye him suspiciously for a few moments, thinking it was all just a clever rouse, but he really is sleeping. I sigh and look out the window, the same cold blackness space always gave me.

_How much longer?_

I rest my head on my hand, the other tapping my fingers on the arm rest. Wishing our destination would arrive soon. Then the thought of Isaac's Plasma Cutter dawned on me. I turn around in my chair, scanning the room for the Cutter; only for it to be near the door. I glance at Isaac snoring away before getting up and taking the tool back to my seat, resting it on my lap. Flipping the safety switch on before tracing the amount of abuse the thing had. The chipped away paint, the cuts and scratches, the traces of blood; everything.

In reality, I shouldn't be so interested in such a tool. All I can think of are my years on the Ishimura, the people I've become so closed to; lost. To be honest, just looking at a Plasma Cutter reminds me of my Dad. He always had to work with one, after all. He was a specialist. Why in the world would he work with a Ripper if he were a Plasma Cutter specialist? That'd be silly.

Again, I'm resting my head on my hand, using my free hand to wave the Cutter around, reading more into Isaac's adventure on the Ishimura. And, man, it must've been one hell of a ride.

After some time passed, a small message pops up from my RIG, alerting me to a new message. I looked at the hologram, dumbfounded as to what it's about. Of course, remembering Mercer's answers gave me a jump to get on this message causing me to nearly drop the Cutter in my hand.

_So, what have you been hiding from me all this time?_

Eager to read the message, I open my list of logs up, and begin to read Mercer's second message.

* * *

Dearest Vivien,

Good, good... If you're reading this, it means you have survived this ordeal. I can safely say that I am the utmost proud of you, Vivien, for making it through. To be honest, I thought you would have given up... more or less, after a certain point.

Now, to further explain the previous message; quite simply, you have been lied to. Well, we're all lied to... most people have white lies, others are told one lie that leaves them on a ship for several years. Now keep in mind, I kept the truth from you as the damage had already been done, it would have only upset you. As you're on your own now, it is best that you know the truth...

First of all, Vivien; there were never any real tests to begin with. Nothing to study for... The shots? Never real. Nothing to better understand the divine Marker for Unitology. Dr. Kyne and Captain Mathius were testing you the entire time. Just to see how much you really trusted them. They kept close tabs on you, watching your every move; all to see if you were truly dedicated to this glorious religion...

If you were really worth the price they had paid.

"Price"? You were traded in for a title. The coveted _Enigma_ title. Of course, the title never went to you... It went to someone else, someone that you have not seen for quite a while.

Do you remember what happened two years ago? The normal day at work that turned tragic? The day your father died? Did you ever find it peculiar that you never saw the body? What about the coroner's report? Coincidently, the Ishimura had docked into a station, picking up supplies that very next day.

It was also the day that your father had deserted you.

I apologize greatly for keeping such a secret. I have tried to the best of my abilities to keep an eye out for you, Vivien. To seem somewhat fatherly to you, even if it has fallen to def ears. Such an attempt on my part has lead to you being infected. (Despite how this path has affected you, Vivien. I do not regret anything that I have done. Otherwise, you would have attracted more of God's children, lowering your chances of survival greatly.)

After all, your father is missing out, is he not? We have discovered the Marker, and he has missed that opportunity. He has even missed out on God's plan for our race. However, I digress... I have come to realize quite easily that you are not interested in such plans, quite unfortunate, despite the path you are going down.

So, then why do am I telling you all of this?

It is quite a leap of faith to entrust you with these faulty plans. This is just, hopefully, enough for you to continue on your own. To keep you motivated. After all, you must want to see your father again. To express your gratitude toward him upon Titan's space station; the Sprawl.

Again, I digress... As much as I'd love to see my plans carried out, a part of me wants to give you a chance at survival. To allow you to have a choice in what happens; your own path instead of everyone choosing for you. Thus, I shall also add this onto your plate to think about; there is also a cure. Discovered by none other than Nicole Brennan.

With what I can gather from having searched her RIG files myself, a cure can be produced from the Marker's signals and one other person. A woman named Lexine Murdoch from the colony on Aegis VII. I am quite certain she survived, so the possibility of finding her is very much real. Slim, but real.

Don't fret, Vivien. If you thought that Zillia would get to you before then, that's not quite true. The same "rules" apply to Zillia, she is only active depending on the Marker's signals.

Lastly, the other files I had sent you, I would like you to read and watch. It is to the utmost urgency that you do. Especially the video... as it will show you what had happened while you were out at the beginning of the outbreak.

It's your choice now, Vivien. Do you remain alive; risking being consumed by Zillia for a mythical cure? ...Or, commit suicide, where Zillia still wins and keep the information of a possible vaccination to yourself? But, whatever you do, Vivien...

Don't believe the lies.


End file.
